The Hunter's Oath
by AmericasAngel
Summary: Bella was taken as a baby and transformed into a Supernatural killer. Now, Her along with Four others go to Forks, Washington with a job to kill the Cullen Family, a coven of a vampires. But distractions are surely to get in the way.
1. Prologue

**High Guys, long time no talk. Im rewriting the whole story because quite frankly. I dont like it. Dont worry, the majority will be the same, im just going to do a little cleaning up to do.**

**But here's the new First Chapter, tell me what you think. If i should keep this new plot going or not.**

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><p>"Bella, I'm scared." A young girl clung to my side as the Reapers marched their way before us. They all looked nearly identical, all with the same black hair and grey eyes, and that unforgettably emotionless expression they carry about them wherever they go. I tensed.<p>

"Don't worry Cassie," I shushed her gently, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "It will all be over soon. Just remember everything I told you." I couldn't tell her everything would be okay, or that it wouldn't hurt. I couldn't lie to this six year beside me, though I knew she wouldn't remember my lie afterwards anyways.

I was scared too, but not for myself, for _her_. With her brown curls and soft green eyes that still believed there was good in the world, her innocence would be lost forever. She'll be a killer, too.

"Bring her forward, Isabella." The Head Reaper motioned me with one pale finger. Six others were crowded behind him, three males and three females hardly eager to see anyone much less me. Their scarred faces judged Cassie's small trembling steps and I tried my best to cover her from their view but there was only so much I could do.

I finally stood before him, my back strong and alert-ready for the inevitable. "Head Master," I acknowledged him with a voice that was laced with faux respect. "Cassie Brown."

The girl slowly looked up from the floor. Her green eyes were glossy and pained. "Hi." She whispered.

The Head Reaper smiled and, if I hadn't known any better, it might have been a sincere one.

"This is an honor, Child." He soothed, laying a hand on her shoulder. I had wanted to rip it off the moment her moved, but that would be treason and punishable by death. "Not many are chosen to be a Scythe, and even less survive the training."

Cassie returned his smile, just like I told her to. "Thank you, but with all due respect, erm, _sir, _I didn't like the giant dog."

Head Reaper chuckled. "Seldom do, Child."

Suddenly, he crouched down before her, lifting an arm behind his back. I rubbed her arm to calm myself. "Can you do something for me, _Cassie_?"

"Anything, sir."

"Give me your hand-" He raised his free hand palm up and clasped his fingers harshly around hers. "Recite to me the Hunter's Oath."

Cassie looked up, scared, but for a more innocent reason. She has been working hard to memorize the Oath, but doubted she'll get the words out through her nerves.

She began:

_Father Hunter lay your hand_

_Let your words be our command_

_Division and its humble plan_

_To reap the monsters on our land_

_We do not fear what we see_

_Our soul, a chosen legacy _

_In blood, in oath we Swear to thee_

_Within our chambers we are free_

She finished with a relief sigh, happy for her accomplishment. Everyone in Division has told her it was just that, an accomplishment, but when she'd ask me what I thought, I told her nothing.

The Head Reapers eyes were bright and glad for another Scythe will soon be working for him. "Amazing job, Cassie, it was truly magnificent. I could only hope Isabella helped you greatly."

"Oh yes! I have Isabella to thank!" The words were meant to be kind and appreciative but they were daggers sticking into my abdomen. _No_, I had wanted to yell. _Do not thank me for this._

"Yes," He slowly lifted his hand to her cheek and instructed her to close her eyes. I could see that silver syringe a mile away. I don't remember how it felt, or rather, I don't remember anything. All I knew was that the syringe was the cause of my hell and for that, it was evil.

Before I had time to react, he plunged the needle into her neck and her eyes flew open. She collapsed onto the tile floor, and her tiny body shook and convulsed and I forced myself to look away. But my ears were sharp, and all I heard was her shrivel scream:

"Bella!"


	2. the move

**First actuall chapter :D Im new at doing this, so im sorry if not everything is perfect. weeeelllll, go on, stop reading this boring author note thing and read the ACTAUL story!**

**Disclaimer, i dont own twilight or any of the charecters in the twilight books mentioned here :D **

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><p>Chapter one;<p>

I kept fiddling with my gloves as the adults took us to the place our next job was going to be held. They haven't told any of us what it was, but we knew it wouldn't make a difference, someone, or something, was going to die anyways. The other four were beginning to get aggravated, which could be expected. Being in a cramped car for 24 hours could get tiring.

"Are we there yet?" Erik, one of the guys asked in a bored tone. With his bad boy look, you wouldn't be surprised he could burn you into a crisp at any given moment. It comes in handy every now and then. The down side, he can be a little conceited about it, and we never got along.

"Shut up, kid." the adult snapped, making Erik's hand ball up into a fist. I sighed, he always had a short temper.

" Dude, chill. They can kills us just as easily as we can kill them." Mark's the safe one. Think everything reasonably, say no to drugs type. He's cute, got dimples on both cheeks, and with those mesmerizing brown eyes he can see things most cant.

"Oh please," Erik whispered, "I bet I could kick their ass anytime."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," I mumbled.

Erik glared at me, "Oh and how would you know, Bella?"

"Its Isabella to you." My remark only made him laugh.

"You know, you could be really dangerous if you would take off those gloves and actually use your power."

"Yes, I know." I glared. He knows I cant control my ability, and takes joy in teasing me about it. "But I don't think you'd want me to use it."

"And why not, Bella?" he raised his bushy eyebrow. I didn't fail to notice the teasing tone when he said my nickname.

I shrugged, acting like what I was about to say really didn't matter, "It _is _uncontrollable, I might not be able to stop myself from causing pain to someone innocent…or annoying." I looked pointedly at him. My two friends, Anna and Mary, smiled with humor. Anna, I guess you can say, is the girl version of Mark. Reasonable, sweet, very pretty, and can make you believe things in your mind. Mary, she can heat up her hands so hot it feels hotter than the temperature of the sun. Every time she does it though, it leaves a mark on her dark skin.

Mark being Mark tried to change the subject, "So, what do you think we'll have to kill this time? A goblin? The boogeyman?"

It looked like Erik was about to say something when the other adult, the woman in the passenger seat, interrupted aggressively, "Shut up back there! Unless you want a shot of that superman's kryptonite!"

Our eyes grew wide, our mouth shut closed, we looked at each other and we each saw the fear in each others eyes. That shot was like poison to us, it really like was superman's kryptonite. It may not kill us, but it sure does cause intense pain, and by the look in our eyes, we sure as hell have endured it at least once.

We made sure the rest of the ride to god knows where was quiet. By the time we got there, the sky was darkening and I speak for all of us when I say we were pretty shocked when we didn't stop to stay at a cheap motel with drunks and hobos in every other room. No, this place was hobo/drunk free.

"Aw, man!" Erik laughed, "We staying in an actual house this time? Sweet!" I just stood there like an idiot, staring at a small house. Looked like it was only two bedrooms, the same as a motel would get us, but it seemed a little bit cleaner, better. It also seemed a little bit familiar, this place, this scene, the cloudy night sky.

"W-Where are we exactly?" I asked the male adult. The lady was the one that answered me though.

"Forks, Washington." was all she told me before she took her bags and when up the porch steps into the house.

"Get your things!" the male yelled, "We'll explain everything inside."

When we walked in, Erik just dumped his heavy bags on the floor. Coincidently, I was standing right beside him, and my foot just happened to be under the bag.

"Aw!" I yelled as I grabbed my foot , "What the hell, dude?"

Erik just smirked, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Oh well, it didn't seem like it hurt." I reached to take my gloves off, but Anna reached for my shoulder to stop me. I moved away before she could actually touch me. My tank top left some skin exposed, and I didn't really feel like feeling someone's pain tonight.

"He's not worth it. Don't do something you might regret." Anna reasoned, setting her hand down.

"For some reason, I don't think I'll come to regret this." I went through the yellow painted kitchen and ended up in the living room, where the male and female adults were waiting for us.

"Everyone! Sit!" the male commanded. We all did as we were ordered. The couch didn't really seem that comfy for any of us, but we made sure we kept quiet about it. The male and female moved to stand in front of us.

The female began, "As you all know, Mr. Six was here a few weeks ago on a business trip." we nodded as she continued, "Yes, well during this business trip he came across two girls. Both inhumanly beautiful, both inhumanly pale, both with strange colored eyes. He informed us that he believed them to be vampires." There were gasp through out the room.

"They're real?", Anna asked, more to herself than the adults.

"Of course they're real. Every other monster is real." Erik grumbled. The adults continued as though nothing was said.

"Its come to our knowledge that it is incredibly hard to kill these _monsters_, if not impossible. We were told that the only way to do so is through fire. We have not been told how to use the fire-"

The male interrupted , "-But that's why we have you five. Its been said it would take a great deal of time to destroy these beasts, hence the house.-"

The female continued, glaring at the male, "We would normally have you here, reading the documents of the information we have so far and have you practice to fight them, but," she paused looking annoyed, "but, since we now have oh so kind neighbors, they might get suspicious if five teenage kids didn't go to school-"

"School?", Mary whispered,

Female looked frustrated, "Yes, school. Anyway. You're not going to stay there _all_ day, nor will you go _every_day. Quite frankly, I don't know why you have to go to school since I don't necessarily people will notice but I cant do anything about it. So-"

"Our cover story," the male continued, smirking at the look of the clearly annoyed lady, "Mark and Anna you two are fraternal twins; same for Erik and Mary. Isabella, you're their cousin coming to live with us cause your parents died in a car accident. We are your parents, and Isabella's aunt and uncle if you couldn't figure that out." I didn't fail to notice the grimace on either of their faces. "Now, names. You will stay with your usual names; all the files are going to be destroyed after we leave any ways. The lady here is going by the name Sarah Martin, and I am Michael."

"They'll probably think we're being abused," I mumbled. My new aunt and uncle turned to glare at me.

"Get the files we put out on the kitchen table and study them. You'll all be staying the west bedroom. School starts tomorrow . You may now go." I got my bags and left the room. Forgetting their instructions I went to out new room, ignoring the incredibly small stack of documents on the round kitchen table.

I laid my bags on the wooden floor. The light blue walls really caught my attention, reminding me of something, though I couldn't really put my finger on it. The room was large compared to the motels we would always go to. Two twin size beds were on either side of the room, leaving enough space between them for people to walk through.

"I wonder who lived here before." I wondered out loud.

"Beats me, looks nice though don't it?" I jumped, completely unaware there was actually someone with me. Relief swept over me when it was only Mark.

"Yeah, nice." leaving my bags where they were, I left to get the documents. When I got back, everyone was already there. Anna and Erik each were on a bed on there bellies reading the papers, as were Mark and Mary, though they were on the floor.

"How do you think Mr. Six gets this information anyways?" I asked. We've been reading and re-reading this files for hours. I needed to start up a conversation to keep myself from sleeping, but in truth, I was actually curious.

"I don't know," Mary yawned, "Maybe he has some book that has all this information." she slammed the file closed, rolled on to her back, not caring she was laying on top of the document.

"How would some book know such detail on vampires, though? This information seems too specific to you come out of random places. How does Mr. six no they don't burn in sunlight but sparkle? That they're eyes change color when they're hungry? He must have some sort of confrontation with one. And if he did, how did he come out alive? Certainly, the vampires would want to keep their existence a secret."

Erik let out a frustrated groan, "What does it matter? It doesn't change the fact that we are going to kill them."

"Bella, Erik's right.", Mark looked like he didn't really want to admit it. "Its not like we're going to get an answer. Anyway, I saw we should all go to sleep now, we do have school tomorrow."

I heard a content sigh coming from Mary, "School. This is the first time I'm ever going to school you know. I wonder how it would be like. I wonder if its like it is in the movies. Stuck up cheerleaders only dating stuck up jocks. Nerds that play chess. I wonder if they'll like me"

"Well if it is, " I started, "We all know which group Erik will fit in well with." I teased, sneaking a glance at Erik face, which didn't look too happy by the way.

"I don't know why you guys are all fantasizing about this anyways." he snapped. "As soon as we're done we're leaving. You best keep to yourselves, we cant let people know anything or at least make em' suspicious."

Anna let out an annoyed huff, "Dude! Why are you always looking at the downside?"

"The down side? Explain that to Bella!"

My head snapped to Erik, "Explain what to Bella? I don't look at the downside!"

Erik rolled his eyes, "Then why do you always shy away from people? Why don't you see the Brightside of your power?"

Just the mention of this makes me angry, "You know why!", I lowered my voice to an angry whisper, not wanting to wake up the adults, "You know I don't have complete control over it! You know at any given moment, if I touch someone, I can either feel their _intense_ pain, or create _intense _pain!"

Erik's arms flew up in the air, "See? There! There it is! You may not have _complete _control over it, but at least you have _most _of the control."

Anna decided to interrupt, "Alright, stop it. You better get some sleep you guys. Its late enough already." She got up from the bed and headed to turn off the light. Turns out , she cant see clearly in the dark. She stepped on Marks hand…and face. She mumbles an I'm sorry' before heading of too bed.

I take my gloves off, for a moment, examining my skin, before laying my head on the pillow on the floor, and closing my eyes shut.

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><p><strong>HEY! I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED IT! please review and tell me wat you think,:D nothing too mean though -_- i will be watching you my prettyies...or uglies..wich ever fits you best, its all the same to me :D<strong>


	3. Oh no

**Chapter Dos! (that means two in spanish..yes i AM mexican hehe:D) Again. sorry if i get somethings wrong, misspellings. grammar, yadda yadda yadda :D**

**Disclaimer: i do not own twilight.**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

I didn't get enough sleep last night. The distracting sound of rain hitting the roof and window filled the room, taking the little hours of sleep I had left. Erik's snoring problem didnt really help either.

Having nothing else to do, I decided to wake everyone else up, save the adults, to get ready for school. Sadly, they were too interested in their dreams so they didnt really respond to my attempts.

I laughed, "Looks like I'm going to have some fun! Wow, and its only...", I glanced at my watch, " Seven! A new record!" I reached into my bag and pulled out a blow horn. I knew it would come in handy one day, I thought.

I went to stand next to where Erik was sleeping and blew the horn. I burst out laughing when I saw Erik fall off the bed with surprise, taking the blankets with him, and Anna follow suit.

"What the hell was that for?", Erik yelled, rubbing the side of his head.

"Well, at first it was just to wake ya'll up, but now that I think of it...", I smirked, "That my, not so friendly, friend, was payback. Sincerely, my foot."

"Oh, really?" Anna started, " You _are_ aware that _we _became part of this plan, right?"

"Yes, I am aware, but I like to call it as a bonus." I giggled, "Now, Lets get ready for the best first day of school ever!" I laced my voice with fake, girly, enthusiam. Mary obviously didnt hear it.

"School!", she jumped up from the floor and raced to the shower, "Got to get ready! Got to get ready!" Halfway through the bathroom door, she stopped and turned around with a look of horror on her face. "Oh my gosh!"

"What?" Mark panicked

"What should I wear? What if I dont dress properly! What if they dont like me?" We all groaned, "What?" We just ignored her and continued to get ready.

*Many Many minutes later*

We were all set to go but the adults never told us how we were going to get to school. Or even where the school was for that matter. I went to their room and knocked lighty on the door, only coming in when they gave me permission to. I found the male still sleeping on a rather comfy looking bed and the lady wide a wake with her once neat hair in a bun on the computer.

"What is it you want Isabella?" the lady didnt look up from her green laptop. With any normal person i would of told them to call me 'Bella', but in this case, she scares me.

"Well, we were wondering how we were to get to school." I quietly explained, making sure to not make eye contact by looking at the floor.

"Yes, well, we had a truck brought in early in the morning. The keys are on the table in the kithen." She continued to scribble something on a piece of paper, "And before you ask, here are the directions. Go now." Taking the paper from her manicured fingers, I went to the kitchen.

Everybody was already there, waiting for me. Mary seemed like she was getting impaitent with her arms crossed and tapping foot.

"So, are we ready to go now?"

"Yeah, she said that they had a truck brought in. She gave me the directions also. Lets go, we need to get their early for our schedules." i took the keys and went out the door. I could faintly hear Erik say "Are you serious?" in a 'please dont let this be true' voice. i turned to look at what he was complaining about.

"What is it this time?" i asked annoyed.

"We're supposed to ride in that? I don't think so" I looked at where he was pointing. There, parked in the street infront of the house, was a faded red truck, looking old and rusty. To my intense surpise, I loved it.

"I dont see much wrong with it. Now lets go, before we're late and alot of poeple are there."

Everybody reluctantly got in the monster of the car. They all groaned when i turned the truck on and it let out a deafing roar.

"Oh great", Erik mumbled, "A truck with attitude."

Following the instructions to Forks High school wasnt that hard, it only took us like eight minutes to get there. I was glad to notice that there werent alot of kids arriving yet. Though the main office was small, everything seemed brightly lit and alot warmer then we were used to. There was a little waiting area with padded folding chairs side by side in the corner of the room.

The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"

"Im Isabella Carter," a small grimace appeared on my face as I said my full name, " This is Erik, Mary, Anna and Mark Harris. We came to get our schedules." I informed her. I saw awareness light her eyes.

"Ah yes, just a moment." She printed out our schedules-which were all the same by the way- and gave us each a paper, which we were to have our teachers sign and turn it in at the end of the day. She also gave us a map, and was kind enough to take the time and highlight the easiest routes to each on it.

By the time we left the office, it looked like all the students had already arrived. They were all looking at us and whispered to each other.

"Why are they all staring?" Anna asked, creeped out, and quite frankly I didnt blame her. They were staring at us like we were manniquines wearing a dress that was "in season."

"Do we look funny? Is their something on my face?" Mary gasped, cevering her face and hiding behind my back.

I noticed some girls were paying more attention to Mark, giving him-what i guess were supposed to be- suductive smiles.

"Uh, how much time do we have left with before the bell ring?" Mark asked, clearly uncomfortable with all the unwanted attention.

I pulled up part of the glove that was covering the watch. "About ten minutes,"I noticed some of the girls pointing and laughing at what I was wearing. I looked at myself, i didnt see anything wrong. It was just a white sweater and black skinny jeans. Maybe they _are_ like the cheerleaders from T.V, I thought. "How about we all go to class early, agreed?"

"Agreed", they all chorused.

We were supposed to go to building three. It was easier to spot near the cafeteria, with a giant '3' painted black on the side of it. We were lucky that none of the other students wanted to be here more than necessary, fot the classroom was empty when we got there.

We only had a few minutes to spare before the other kids would come in here and give all their unwanted and unapreciated attention to us. The teacher wasnt there yet, so we just decided to make our selves at home.

"Are teenagers always like that with new kids?" Anna settled her blue Backpack down in one of the chairs by me and Mary.

"If they are, I dont want to try out this school thing anymore." Mark moved to the chair infront of Erik.

"I never wanted to do this school thing in the begin-" I started to say until Mark interupted.

"What?" He yelled, annoyed, at Erik who has been staring at him the whole time.

Erik sighed, looking at Mark more intensely,"I dont get it."

"Get what?" Mark groaned. Erik just tapped his chin and starting to cirlce Mark.

"The girls...they...like you...more than me.I dont get it. I mean," he let out a short laugh, "look at me."

"Wow, that didnt hurt me or my ego." Mark answered sarcasticaly, yet quietly looking around the room.

I dicided to join in that conversation, "Well Erik, I'm looking...Im look-woops, eyes hurt already." I smirked.

The bell rang and not soon after the room started to pile in with kids. When they saw us already there, they stopped for a moment and walked cautiosly around us, whispering to each other. Mary and I shared a look that said, "Weird shishkabobs". It only seemed like a minute after the others came in that a bald teacher came walking in. My 'siblings' and I were sitting at the back, so we couldnt see what his name was from back here, though when he wrote his name on the boared, we found out his name was Mr. Masen.

"Class, it appears we have a couple of new students." he pointed at us. I flushed red when the whole class turned and stared at us at the same time. I was quite thankful when Mr. Mason didnt make us introduce ourselves.

That class seemed to drag on forever. Mary, Anna and I were playing hangman and tick-tack-toe all period. We already learned this. As a part of being a supernatural hunter, we had to be home-schooled also, and with the drugs I knew the gave us our first day, our brains got everything quicker than normal minds. I was incredibly happy when the bell for lunch rang, but that feeling went away as soon as we were surrounded by poeple.

Some nerdy looking guy came up to us first and asked, "You the new kids right." We just nodded in responce. "Cool, Im Eric." All of us, exept Erik, snickerd. Erik, meet Eric, I thought.

Some girl came up to Mary with a smile you could tell was fake, "Hey, Im jessica!"

"Im Mary," she smiled shyly.

Jessica smirked, "Oh I know." Looks like a gossiper. "How about you and your family sit with us at lunch?" Mary was eager to agree, shaking her head wildly, happy that she wasnt considered wierd like in T.V.

Jessica and Mary were talking the while time we were walking to the cafeteria. We were a little behind of the group, but we didnt necessarly care. I learned a good lesson though, a girl doesnt get food, poelpe think she has an eating disorder.

"Why didnt you and your family get food?" Jesiica asked Mary.

"Oh, we dont like eating food that wasnt made by my mother." Mary lied as we sat down.

"Hey, Im mike." a baby-faced boy with shaggy pale blond hair greeted. "Your Isabella right?"

"Bella." I corrected then turned away, not wanting to interact much with anyone outside of my 'family'.

He didnt seem to get it. "So, I hear you're their cousin. Why didnt you stay with your parents?" I guess he didnt mean for it to sound rude, but it sounded rude anyways.

"They died...in a car accident.." I looked down, trying to sound distraught as any other girl who lost her parents would be. Apperantly he was convienced.

"Oh, Im sorry." he looked away awkward, like he didnt know what else to say. Very original, I thought as I tried to hold back a sigh. I looked over at Erik and Mark, they didnt look too excited about sitting here either.

I Turned to look at the door as a distracting when I saw incredebly beautful poeple come in. There were five of them apperantly, and I couldnt take my eyes off of them.

"I see the Cullen and Hale family have caught your eye." Jessica stated, interupting my oggling. **(_i dont know if i spelled it right, or used the right word)_**

"The who?" I tore my eyes away to look at her.

"The Cullen and Hale family, they're all adopted." she repeated, "See, the short girl with spikey hair; thats Alice Cullen. That other guy, the one that looks like he's in pain; Jasper Hale, Alice's boyfriend. The blond chick, thats Rosalie Hale; twin of Jasper and Girlfriend of Emmett Cullen, the really buff one. The last one, the incredebly hot one, yeah, he's Edward Cullen. Single, but not ready to mingle. Apperently no one here is good enough for him."

Through out her whole introduction, I couldnt really help but notice some wierd things about them. I turned to see if the others were looking at them also; they were.

The files said that vampires are incredebly pale; check. Incredebly beatiful;check. Strange colored eyes; check. So they werent related, I thought, but they all look the same...yet different.

"Apperantly, Esme Cullen couldnt have kids-" jessica looked in gossip mode before i interrupted her.

"-yeah, sad. Oh look at the time!" I said and looked at my wristwatch quickly before standing up and looking at my friends faces, "It's time to go to the library for the books we needed to get." They got up quickly. Mary was the one that stayed put though, talking to some guy who's name I remember as Tyler. "Mary, come one!" i called to her.

"But-" I didnt give her a chance to finish before I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind me after giving the others an innocent smile.

Once at the library, everyone turned to stare at me.

"What was that all about?" Mary asked, irritated.

"Did you not see that family?" I angrly whispered.

"Yeah, what about them?" everyone else groaned. The really old librarian passed by and shushed us.

"They fit the discription that they gave us of vampires to a 'T'." Anna explained in a hushed tone.

"They did?" I held back my hands from slapping her. Anna nodded. "Oh well, thats great!...isnt it?"

"Yeah, its great having five vampires- three more than what they told us by the way- in a cafeteria full of humans."

Mark interupted. "Wait, maybe its just a coincidence that they fit the discription." he whispered, "We got to make sure first."

"He's right." Erik said, we stared at him shocked, "What...? Ugh, look. we have to make sure we are killing the right thing. We dont want a repeat of what happened before here do we?" we shook our heads. "Alright, so heres the plan. We dont tell the adults. Not until we're at least 85.788% or something sure. Got it?" We nodded. "Great, now everybody put your hands in and yell 'brake!'" This time we just turned around and walked away and random directions, leaving a very disapointed, yet smiling Erik behind.

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><p><strong>HOPE YOU LIKED IT! Sorry if its too long or to short or watever. PLEASE review if you wish my little umpalumpas :D i shall be waiting :D <strong>


	4. Stupidity recklessness

**Chapter Three!:D i think its chapter three...well watever! **

**Discalimer: I dont own Twilight, those amazingly hot characters belong to stephenie meyer...that lucky biotch:D**

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><p>Chapter three<p>

After the bell ran signaling the end of lunch, we all headed towards our next class. The way there would've been better, if it wasn't for the kid, Mike, Jessica and some other girl I haven't met, who came and ruined our time.

"Hey, guys!" Jessica greeted, as she caught up to us, "This is my friend Lauren." Mary smiled at her-of course- as for the rest us…we gave her the same amount of interest she seemed to have in us…none. She didn't even bother looking at us.

"What class do you have next?", Mike asked me.

I held back a groan, taking out my schedule, " Uh, Biology II."

For some reason, he smiled brightly, "Oh me, too! I'll walk you!" Oh, no..., I thought.

"Its okay!" I replied quickly, "I have my family. We all have the same classes."

"Well, yeah, but I don't want you guys getting lost."

I held back a grimace and put on my best smile I had for the guy, which wasn't really much, "Thank you, how thoughtful of you." I could here Erik and Anna snickering behind me.

Thankfully we reached the classroom door quickly, but I wasn't too happy when I saw the other kids there already, staring at us for the third time. Mike, Jessica and that other chick went to their seats while we stood in front of the classroom, waiting for the teacher to tell us our new seats. The nameplate on his desk identified him as Mr. Banner, who first signed our paper slips.

"Students, we have new comers!" he said with fake smiles sfter he finished with our slips, " Would you please introduce yourselves." I instantly hated that guy. I'm not good in front of people, though I never really _had _to be in front of anyone, I just know I'm no good at it.

Erik stepped up first, putting on a smile, "Well, my name is Erik Harris. Twin of Mary. Hmm,", he tapped his chin, his eyes squinted concentration, "I like girls, motorcycles, girls, fire, girls. I dislike puppies, not girls, long walks at the beach, the color pink, people that stare-"

"Not what I meant, Mr. Harris." Mr. Banner sighed, "Go sit next to Mike, you know who he is. Next."

We pushed Anna, who gave us an angry look before she starting her introduction.

"Um, Hi.", She started off, giving a small, awkward wave, "My names Anna Harris, um, I'm Mark's twin, We moved here from Texas…and…that's about it."

Mr. Banner, nodded, "Alright, good, thank you Ms. Harris. You may go sit by Tyler. Tyler raise your hand." Some dark kid, darker than Anna, raised his hand., "Next.

Mary stepped up eagerly, sending out a sweet, white toothed smile, "Hi, guys. I'm Mary. I'm really glad to be here! Um, yeah well my-," she paused, thinking, "_brother_, pretty much mentioned that we are twins. I'm glad to say that I got the looks while he got the…well I got the brains also so…I'll think of something for him later." The class laughed, Erik didn't though. He did the , 'I have my eyes on you', sign.

I zoned put, knowing Mary would want to keep talking and talking and talking...

I took Marks time to look around the room. It was pretty simple, white walls, encouraging sayings along the top side of the them, pictures of cells were on the board. My eyes stopped dead when I saw one of the Cullen's sitting in the back. I have to say, if I had to choose who was the most beautiful one, it would be him. Compared to his other brothers, he had that boy-ish look and his untamed bronze hair made him even more attractive- if that was possible.

For some reason, he looked fustrated as he looked at my family, I could see his eyes shifting from Anna, to Mary, to Mark, to Erik, then, finally, me. We stared at each other for what seemed like forever, his fustrated look worsened the longer he started at me and I didn't know why.

I Could faitly hear someone calling my name, "Isabella?..Isabella?" Mr. Banner called.

I tore my eyes away from the guy, turning tomato red when I noticed everybody looking at me, "Uh, yeah. Um, My name is Isabella Carter," I stuttered, "I prefer to be called 'Bella' though. I'm the Harris' cousin. Can I sit down now?" I turned to Mr. banner, eyes pleading.

This only made him smile, "Yes, Isa- I mean- Bella. You may sit next to Edward Cullen. Edward, could you raise your hand please?" I didnt need him raising his hand, I already knew where he was. With my head down, I rushed to my seat, glad to not have to be the center of attention anymore.

When I sat down, I was surprised to be greeted by a sweet, velvet voice, "Hello, Im Edward Cullen."

I gave him a small smile, "I'm Bella, obviously." I turned to look at the board, pretending to pay attention after Mr. Banner turned the fan on.

Through out class, I could feel Edward's intense stare, though I tried to ignore it, using my hair as a curtain between us. I reached my ending point and couldnt stand the staring anymore.

"What?" I demanded, but quickly shut my mouth. His eye were coal black and wasnt just staring at me, he was glaring at me. I havent realized he moved so that he was as far away from me as the desk would allow and was covering his nose with his hand. I noticed the fan was blowing directly at me.

If he was a vampire, I thought, then the fan must be making it difficult to resist my...smell? Its either that, or he thinks I smell bad and isn't trying to hide it, I mused. I took hold of acouple strands of my hair, not trying to be obvious, and sniffed it. I didnt think there was anything wrong with how I smell, like my strawberry shampoo I use every morning.

I took the chance of amusing myself. Giving a fake shiver, I raised my hand, and paitently waiting to be called on.

"And thats how-Uh- Yes, Ms. Carter?" Mr. Banner asked.

"I'm getting kind of cold, do you mind of I turn off the fan?" I answered, giving him an innocent smile.

"Oh, be my guest." He continued on with the lesson as I went to the side of the room towards the fan. When I returned I snuck a glance at Edward, finding he his body was still tense, but as tense as it was before. Grimacing, I turned to look at my pretend family, who were just infront of me. I let out an inaudible sigh, I guess we actually _do_ have a job. I didnt want to kill him.

When the bell rang, Edward was the first out, literally ran out of his seat, through the door. I admit, I was a little offended, but hey, at least I'm 85.251- or watever Erik said- percent sure that Edward might be a vampire. I couldnt help but think it was such a waste that he might have to come to die; he had good looks.

"I see you and Cullen are getting along _great_." Erik laughed as we walked toward our next class, gym.

I cringed. So i wasnt the only one that noticed. I gave him a sad smile making him look at me weird, "What? Your actaully sad he didnt like you?" The other turned to look at me.

I sighed, "Its no that, its-" I stopped when I saw one of the other Cullens, the short one, at the other end of the hall, and I remember reading vampires having hyper sensitive hearing, "I'll tell yall at the house."

The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found us uniforms , but didnt make us dress out for today's class. I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously while the others tried to get answers out of me, but the same cullen i saw in the hallway had this class with me.

"For the last time guys, not now. "i whispered to them as we walked out of gym to the office., "Now can yall keep your voices down?"

"Why?" Mary whined in a baby like voice.

"I told you, Wait till we are at the house."

"Again, why?"I could feel as Anna was using her power, trying to make me believe nothing bad was around.

"Its not safe to tell you guys here-Anna stop using your power on me or I swear to god I will use mine on you no matter how uncontrolable."I whispered as we walked through the glass office door but I stopped in my tracks when I noticed Edward in the front desk , arguing. He stopped adruptedly, rushing by us and out the door.

We turned in our slips, and walked out to the truck. Once we were leaving, I noticed the Cullen family staring at us form the review mirror.

"Crap," I whispered. The others looked at me, worried.

"Whats wrong, Bella?" Mark asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I think the Cullens suspect something." THey looked at me, shocked.

"What? Why would you think that? Its only our first day."

"I dont know, they were staring at us just now. Remember when we were at the library?" They nodded, "We didnt check to see if any of the cullens were around."

"Well yeah," Erik started, "But why would we? We saw them at the cafeteria. Why would they follow us? They couldnt have heard us."

"Vampires have amazing hearing remember? And the library was right by cafeteria. They coulve heard us by through the wall, even with our whispering, since we all know we suck at that."

"I thought we agreed that it might be a coincidence." Anna said, confused.

"Yeah, well do you remember their eye color?"

"Yeah, they were gold, why?"

"They are all adopted and they all have the same unique eye color. Doesnt that mean anything to you?" I argued.

"Yeah, okay I'll give you that. But it seems a little too early too make conclusions based on their eye color." Mary laughed.

I groaned, "Well, during Biology, when the fan was blowing directly at me, Edward's eyes were coal black, like _coal black, _really black. It looked like he was holding himself back."

"Okay," Anna said slowly, nodding. "I still say not to tell the adults."

"Why?" Erik snapped.

"We need more info. I admit, this is pretty legitimate stuff, but we need to be absolutly sure!" She argued back.

We reached the house before we were able to closed the subject. We walked inside, finding both the adults on their computer, only looking up to say, "Go practice."

We trudged to the the forest, since practicing our abilities in our backyard is dangerous. At any moment, one of neighbors could come out and see us, and expose our secret, label us as freaks or something like that.

"Okay," Erik started as he played with a match, leaning against a tree, "We still need to talk about this. I get we are suspicous of them, I dont get how _they_ are suspicious of _us_."

I sighed, " Like I said, they have really good hearing. I mentioned me and Anna having powers outside the office door, Edward was right there, close enough to hear us just like we were yelling it."

"Oh geez. Guys we got to be more carefull than we planned." Mark sighed. We noticed one of the adults coming towards us, we straightend out our postour right away.

"Stop talking so much and continue exercising your powers! We'll be needing them soon." We looked at her confused. "I'll explain later. Now, less talking!"

Erik was the first to comply, always eager to get to use his powers every chance he gets. I watched, secretly jealous, as he used the match to create a small fire, controling it with his fingers, moving them swiftly and gently. Dropping the match, he made the string of fire circle his body. It was really something to watch, especially when he set the tree he was recently leaning on on fire.

We spent the next three hours practicing. Anna used me a couple of times, with me trying to fight her ability and her trying harder and harder to make the illusion stick. I got to say, she did a pretty good job, I only broke free about twice. As for Mary, she used metal bars. It takes all her contentraction to try and melt the metal with her hands. Her hands can feel like the temperature of the sun, but its really, really difficult for it to get there; she has to be pissed. In the end, she only managed to make the metal bend with weakness, not melt. Mark, well, I dont know _what _does, maybe look at the inside of the trees...inside of insects, or something, he never really gives us a straight answer, he just claims it works for him.

As for me, I can already control the amount of pain _I _feel when I touch someonedown to a nothing so I thought I could do the same with the creation of pain. I used Mary, since she's the peppy one and is always in a good mood, I figured hey, maybe she wont get mad if I dont succeed.

"Okay, ready Mary?" She nodded, smiling. I walked over to her, reaching to touch her cheek, stopping only centemeters away to say, "If you feel pain, I am really sorry." I closed my eyes, took a deep breath , and lowered the pain as much as I already could-which wasnt much- I closed the distance. I cringed when I heard her cry out. I desperatly looked of the red shade I usually see in someone and tried to get a hold of it. I let out a relief breath once I saw it, and imagined it getting smaller, but Mary's cries distracted me too much. I finally let go, not wanting her to be in much pain any longer. I opened my eyes and couldnt hold in the gasp that went through me.

Mary had tears running down her cheek, her lips were blue and bloody from her biting her them to keep from screaming. Her eyes had dark shadows beneath them and showed even more for her skin became deathly pale. My voice was shaky, "Oh my...I am so sorry!" I cried. I stepped towards her, she stepped back though, a look of fear in her eyes, "Mary..."

"Could you put your gloves on?" She pleaded, running towards the house. I quickly complied, getting them from the giant rock I had put them on. I looked the others, they were staring at me, shocked. Anna and Mark broke out of their strance and went after Mary.

"Still think this is a gift?", I whispered before I too ran to the house.

The adults asked what happened after we were all inside. Mark reluctantly explained after I tried too, failing miserably holding in my tears. It looked like the female adult _did _have some feelings, her eyes held concern for Mary, and told her to take some rest, for all us to take some rest. Of course, teh male adult tried to argue, but with one mean look from the lady, he shut up rather quickly. She said that she'll explain our job tomorow, and let us go to bed.

I stared at Mary's weak form from the floor across the room. I shouldnt have used her, I thought, she is part human after all. How reckless of me, how stupidly reckless of me. Needless to say, I cried myself to sleep that night, I cried myself to sleep with the sound of Mary's whimpers every time she moved.


	5. i dont know what to nam his :P

**HERE is chapter Four:D Read on my little vegeterian piggies! WARNING! at some point the story will go all weird and not go serioisly, I felt the need to put something funny, even if its only me that thinks its funny:D AAAANY WHO!**

**Discalimer: I do not own twilight, they all belong to SM...yup...not sad about that one bit...not one...bit...**

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><p>Chapter Four<p>

We decided to let Mary stay for school today. She was still looking ill and restless when she woke up and would flinch away anyone of us would come close. That really didnt help ease my guilt. School was uneventful though it seemed poeple actually noticed Mary's absence.

"Where's that girl that was with you guys?", Mike asked as he picked at his food.

"_Mary_," I emphasized, "Had food poisoning. Thats the last time we let Erik cook." Mike burst out laughing, I just gave him a wierd look. Okay..., I thought, It wasnt that funny...tone it down a little. He conitnued to laugh alot, I thought.

"Hey!" Erik's head snapped up, "I did nothing."

"Whatever..." I smiled, looking away just in time to see Jessica and the others coming to sit down with us with their trays.

"Hi, Mike."She smiled, flirtatiously, then sent me a small yet noticable glare while sitting down next to him, "Bella."

I faintly heard Mark say, "Fine, I didnt want to say 'hey' to you either." I snickered.

"Anyways, "Jessica started, rolling her eyes. "Where's Mary?"

I sighed. "She got food poisening."

"Aw, I hope she gets better." I could see she was trying to hide her smile , playing with her food with her fork.

"Spoken like someone who cares." I muttered. She didnt hear obviously for she turned to Mike and starting talking...seductively...?

"Guys, I say we call the house; check up on Mary."Anna suggested,grabbing her bags. We agreed and walked out the cafeteria.

I dont know how I didnt notice that the Cullens already came in. I noticed Edward wasnt with them, and couldnt help myself from feeling a little disappointed. The blond chick, Rosalie-I think her name was-, was glaring at me, I quickly looked away.

We walked outside, and stopped and sat at a picnic table near a tree. The feeling of guilt came washing over me all over again when I remembered yesterdays events. Anna noticed beside me and put her hand on my shoulder as a sign of comfort. I was happy that I didnt have to pull away this time; I made sure to wear sweaters more often -not the ugly emo kind, no, but the kind that wouldnt stand out amoung my...easely judging peers.

"Its okay, Bella. She knows you didnt mean to." Anna said softly.

"Yeah!" Erik smiled, "I mean, sure it _was _youridea, you knew your power, that was feel and _cause _pain, would _cause her pain,_ but hey! Totally not your fault!"He laughed, shaking his head. I looked at him in disbelief.

"Keep your voice down!" I managed to whisper.

"Not cool, dude." Mark defended, voice filled with disappointment.

"What? Its true."

"Guys!" Anna interrupted, alittle angry, "It doesnt matter anymore. Lets just call her." Shaking her head annoyed, she took out her blue cell phone and outting it on speaker. It took a while for some one to pick up.

"Hello?" we heard the female say through the phone, cautious.

"Aunt Sarah?" Anna said, Im guessing taking precautions just in case anyone would over hear us.

"Oh, hello honey," we grimaced, it was weird to hear her be so...kind..."How's school going."

We looked at each other before Anna answered, "Good. Actually we called to see how Mary is doing."

'Aunt Sarah' laughed, "Your sister is doing good. She's went out like a light after you guys left for school. She's still sleeping right now."

Anna nodded slowly, " Thanks Aunt Sarah. We, uh, Have to go. The bell is bound to ring any minute, please tell Mary that we called-"

I interjected"-And that I'm sorry. Please tell her that I said I am sorry."

"Will do, sweetie." Her tone was soft...and it scared me alittle. The line went dead after that.

Anna turned to look at the guys, "Okay, next time we call and 'Sarah' answers, _you _are going to be the ones to talk to her...that was creepy, even for me."

The bell rang and we all walked to class. I was secretly hoping that Edward would be there. That the reason that he wasnt with his family was because he had to do some catching up for some class or something. When we reached the class I didnt know whether to be disappointed or glad that he wasnt there. I reluctantly walked to my desk, and stared at the door, hoping by some miracle he was just running late. The late bell rang, and Edward Cullen was a no show.

Sighing, I layed my chin on my hand, waiting for the class to be over even if it just began. In the middle of class I decided to send notes to Anna, wishing she would be able to take my intense boredom away. I wrote 'Hello fellow classmate/cousin/person/ earthling!' on the paper and threw it to her when Mr. Banner wasnt looking. I was happy to know that it landed neatly infront of her. I felt like freaking Batman! I saw her open the paper and she turned and mouthed, "Are you serious?" I gave her a "hurry up' motion with my hands. She rolled her eyes and turned back to look at the front of the room. I tore another paper out, this time writting, "Answer back you big babboon!" and threw it, feeling like Batman once more when it once again landed neatly in front of her.

This time, she did answer. I felt like throwing my arms in the air and partying, because quite frankly, I _was_ that bored.

Her reply was a simple, 'What do you want?' written neatly in Anna's cursive.

I wrote: 'I just wanted to talk to my favorite cousin.' When I gave it to her, she turned and raised her eyebrow.

'Okay...and why do you want to talk to me?'

'Why do you question me, young one?'

'Dude, we are the same age!'

'Ah, so you've heard of me.' I saw her look at me, I smiled, and I saw her shoulders rise and fall, like she was sighing.

'Yes, I've also heard that you tend to buy monkeys out of the catalog."

I gasped, then wrote: 'Lies! Lies I tell you. Its chimpanzese!' I saw her shoulders move rapidly, I smiled. Oh yes, I thought, Laugh with laughter. Before she had a chance to reply the bell rang.

We all met by the door and headed off to gym. This time we actually _did_ have to dress out and participate. They made us play volleyball, luckly we got to pick our own team members so it wouldnt be that bad. Erik wanted to play against me and Anna, and Mark was obligated to play with Erik.

Now, I never realized something, Erik and I can be pretty competitive, -even with my small dosage of clumsyness as a disadvantage- and we can pretty much bring down others to become just as competitive us.

"That was cheating!", Mark yelled, pointing an accusing finger towards us.

"What why?" I argued.

"You hit it more than three times!" .

Anna looked at him confused, "No, we didnt! it went over on the third one!"

"Of course your going to say that! Your on the team that cheated!" Erik yelled.

"Whatever!" Anna retorted.

"Whatever your face!" Erik pouted, sticking his tongue like three year old.

"My face or not, either way! We are still winning!"

"Not for long my not so pritties!" Mark said, making his voice sound like the wicked witch of the West.

The guys were able to make two more points, but we were able to get them back. I only tripped three times! Yes, I felt powerful. Anyways, we won, the score being 5 to 3. It was pretty good considering this was the first time we actually played sports. When the bell rang we went to the locker-rooms, all sweaty and amazing, that is, before we over-heard Lauren talking about my 'family'in the restroom while we were changing.

"I swear, those Harris kids, they are useless." she laughed, we heard a chorus of giggles and 'yeah, right.'s.

Anna and I looked at eachother, and snuck over to to the side of the wall, peeking our heads out the side, getting a pretty good view with out them seeing us. Lauren was putting on her making, while the other girls surrounded her, fixing their hair.

"And what's up with that Mary chick?", one girl smiled, "I think she might be going for your man."

"Oh please, She has absolutely nothing on me."Lauren's eyes narrowed in the mirror.

"I dont know," another sang, "Tyler seems pretty interested in her. I heard him talking about her with Mike."

"I will get him, Samantha. Its only about time he will realize whats he's missing out on." my hand tightend into a fist. I wanted to slap that conceided smirk off that plastic face of hers.

"Yeah, Mary isnt even _that _attractive anyway, " the same girl, Samantha agreed, " Isabella is the real weird one from that family, dont you Perla?" The others nodded. Oh, hell nah, I thought, I can take being called weird, but being called weird with my _full name_, thats trouble.

"I, for one, think that they might be the next Cullen family." Perla, I'm guessing, teased. All the girls, including us, jumped when Lauren suddenly slammed her fist down on the old white sink.

"They've barley been here two days and they're already as well known as me!" She cried out. Anna smiled; I looked at her confused before I heard a high pitch squeal. "Theres a rat on my head!" I snapped my head towards her and lifted an eyebrow, there was nothing on her head. I turned back to Anna and saw her snickering. So your using your power for good, I thought, nice.

"Lauren!"the Samantha girl urged, "Theres nothing on your head!"

"Yes, there is! Look! Get it off get it off!", Lauren pleaded, then all of a sudden stopped, confused, "What?" she whispered, "I swear there was a rat! Where it go?"

"There. Was. No. Rat." Perla stated, as if determained to get that into her head.

Anna and I took that as our cue to leave, knowing the guys must be getting impaitent for waiting so long. We were right, when we walked out, Erik had that "I'm so cool and hot I dont have to wait," look.

"What the hell took you guys so long?" He demanded.

"We just needed to check on something," I answered, smiling at Anna.

"What-What's that look." Mark asked, pointing his finger at both of us.

I looked at him innocently, " What look?"

"You know what look." he posed.

"Lets go to the house, I want to see Mary!" I ran through the gym doors to the parking lot. I was shocked to see it was almost empty, the only cars left were our red truck, two other old cars, and a shiny jeep.

I heard rapid footsteps behind me, "Wait up speedy gonzalez!" Mark called.

"Hurry up! Mary was home alone with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Michael! Poor girl!" I shouted. I was the first to reach the truck though felt werird, like someone was watching us, but I let it go, thinking it was just my imagination.

We raced 'home', eager to see our little hot hands. Hopefully she isnt scared of being near me as much. I still felt bad for what happend, who wouldnt be? I nearly killed her for freaking sakes! I ran through the house, barley breathing a 'hello' to the adults, and into our room.

Mary was in Anna's bed, sitting up, reading a book from the bookshelf. She looked up and smiled when she saw me. I, obviously, was happy that she didnt shy away. I walked over to her.

"How are you feeling?" I whispered, sitting down on the foot of her bed.

"Better," she smiled, "How was school?"

"Nothing big happened, We called during lunch, but you were asleep." I stated.

She nodded, "Yeah, the female told me." There was a small awkward silence before she added, "You know I've forgiven you right?"

"Really? Cause you flinching away everytime I got close told me otherwise." I laughed Humorlessly.

"Well, hey! Its pure instinct! My body was moving away on its own record!" she argued, "I, myself, forgave you after I i heard you crying at night."

I looked at her shocked, she just smiled, "I was not crying! The flloor was dusty and some got in my eye!" I defended.

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right."

The female adult called us downstairs. MAry got up from the bed effortlessly, and skipped downstais, I follwed after I got out of my strance. Everybody was already there, waiting in a neat line.

"Now, your job," The male started, "has nothing to do with bloodsuckers. Before we came here, we have been looking for disapperances around this town, murderes, blah blah blah."

The female sighed, " We thought we'de come up short-this being a small uneventful town and all- but no. While you guys were at school, and Mary was passed out, we went to the place where most of the disappearances were. It was around La push reservation. Something fishy was going on while we were there, and though we dont have much, we need to continue investigating. Thats where you guys come in."

The male continued for the lady, "We need young poeple there, that way poeple there think you are just curious adolecence." We rolled our eyes, "Anyways, we investigate later, we cant have you guys missing school when you just began, it would be to...suspiciouse. Now go practice your abilities."

We got up and started our way to the forest. "Oh and Isabella," I grimaced at my name, reluctantly turning around, "Dont practice on your partners. We dont need another accident."

The female interjected, "Try with animals first...and a little advice." she smiled..., "You have the right idea of how to control the amount of pain...just the wrong...whats the words I'm looking for... tactics...approach? Its one of those words. You may go now."

I continued out the door, still confused. I dont know why 'Aunt Sarah' was being nice, and quite frankly, it scares me. And the right idea ,the wrong approach she was talking about, how else am I supposed to do this? Hopefully I get to control it soon, Ive gone to long without being able to, and something tells me Im going to have to sonner or later.

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><p><strong>Carppy Ending If i do say so myself. Sorry for the wait, Hope you guys liked it. :D please review...if you want..<strong>


	6. KNown and nightmares

**I am incredebly sorry for the long wait, i started writting then saturday came and yeah. A word of advice? If the weekend is close to appearing, the next chapter isnt.:P I was sorta hoping to make this a long chapter but...no...maybe next time no? AANNYYWHOO!**

**Hapy fourth of july! Disclaimer: I do not own twilight,. ON WITH THE STORY MY JERKYS!**

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><p>Chapter Five,<p>

While the others were practicing I went more into the forest, trying to find near by animals to practice on. I came up with nothing. You'd think there would be more animals in a forest, I thought, letting out a short irritated laugh. I've been looking for what, four hours? I looked at my watch…Or ten minutes if you want to be literal.

"I'm really out of shape." I mumbled, putting the back of my hand on my forehead.

I continued walking around in random directions, whistling. I heard a rustling near by and stopped, quickly ripping off my gloves. From the corner of my eye I saw a bush wiggle. I turned towards the bush, tense. I picked up a stick and poked it in random parts. I jumped back when I saw it wiggle again. I saw something trying to get out so I took a few more steps back. It as white, and fluffy looking…it was a bunny.

I laughed, "Hey, thumper." I was going to reach to pet it, but then remembered I took my gloves off.

"Poor thumper, you just had to come out when I was looking for something to use." I whispered. " I'm going to try to get you, now, when I count to three, jump away…" I walked closer, hands out stretched, "One…two…three!" Thumper didn't move.

"You were supposed to jump away!" I whined, "Do you want to get killed?" It just wiggled its nose, looking straight at me with those big, brown eyes. I sighed and put my black gloves back on.

"You're just too cute to kill." I sat down beside the bunny, petting it as I went and giggled when it jumped into my lap.

"You are going to be a girl." I declared, "And if you're a guy, it wont matter, 'Thumper' is a boys and girls name. Want to know how I know?" I asked her, using my baby voice, "Because in the movie, I didn't know whether thumper was a guy or a girl, and the name didn't help. Same went with the skunk." I laughed., "Anyways, I'm going to take you home with me, Thumper." I stood up, carrying my new pet in my arms. " Now help me look for another animal to use while we walk home. Okay?" She rubbed her nose up against my cheek. I started walking towards the direction of the house when I saw a white blur pass beside me. I swirled around, holding Thumper against my chest protectively. I felt rapid wind behind me. Thumper started acting weird; she kept twisting and wiggled her way out of my grasp. I tried to catch up to her jumping form before I saw a white figure standing far away from me; I could see through the sudden fog the man had crimson red eyes. Obviously not human, obviously a vampire. I ripped my gloves off for the second time today, my body became guarded.

"Who are you?", I asked over the pounding of my chest. They just stayed still, cocking their head to the side. I called again, this time with more authority in my voice, "Who. Are. You?"

I heard a musical, frightening laugh and was suddenly thrown into a tree. I struggled to get up, leaning against the tree for support. I looked around only to find that I was alone. My breathing was rigid and my back was throbbing.

"Was that really necessary?" I barked.

An ice cold hand was suddenly at my throat, holding me up on against the same tree. The hand dropped me quickly though, hissing in pain. I saw the crimson eyes in front of me; anger was clear in them. I smirked. That seemed to piss him off even more; he reached for throat again and once again hissed in pain but didn't let go. As he tightened his hand around my neck, I could hear his teeth clenching together trying to hold in the scream-or hiss- that would surely come out . My head began to feel light headed from the lack of air. My hands gripped his arms, trying to pry his hands off my neck.

"Let...Me...Go..." I managed to gasp out, the only response I got was a growl. My eyes started to close, and I was losing feeling of my body. I could faintly see a reddish _faded_ color, I realized that was the color of their pain. Why is it faded?, I thought, It should be a strong color. I didn't ponder on that for long, I was slipping into unconsciousness was beginning to get angry. I cant be this weak, I thought, I've fought and killed many creatures. He should be no different. I have to fight.

My vision was beginning to turn fuzzy; my anger was growing and growing. I could see the red color beginning to get brighter and heard the vampire growl. He finally dropped me, staring at his hands. I rubbed my neck as I gasped for air eagerly.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" I croaked. His head snapped to me, glaring but then stopped and turned his head to look behind him.

"I'll get you, hunter." he threatened before turning around and running with incredible speed.

I sat there, stunned for a moment. I got up and ran towards the house through the dark night.

"Guys! Guys!" I yelled when I saw them through the forest trees. They were near the back door, anxious, " Anna! Guys!" They ran up to me as soon as they saw me.

"What took you so long?" Mary asked, worried, "You were gone for over an hour!"

I tried to explain but Mark interrupted me, "How hard it is to find an animal in the woods, Bella?"

Again, I tried to speak, but was interrupted by Erik, "We had to lie for you to the adults!"

I opened my mouth to interrupt him, but Anna decided to add to the conversation. "That could get _all _of us a shot of Superman's Kryptonite."

"Would you guys shut up?" I finally said, they did so rather quickly, "Thank you." I sighed.

"Okay, so what the hell happened?" Erik urged.

"Well, I had a little run in..." they waited expectantly, "With a vampire. " Their eyes widened with shock. "Oh and heads up, it is _very incredibly _hard to find and animal in the woods when a vampire almost attacked you, thank you very much!"

"Was it one of the Cullen's?" Mary asked, ignoring my last statement.

"No, this one had red eyes, blood red eyes. My power didn't effect him as much as any other monster."

"What do you mean?" Mark questioned, confused.

" I _mean _that it seemed like it hurt him, but he seemed to be able to handle it."

"How were you able to escape then? If your powers barley worked, then you must've been like any other human to them."

"I don't know, somehow, the amount of pain I sent out increased-"

"Increased?" Mary asked, surprised, "More than you already could? I didn't think it was possible."

"Well, we have to see how you made that possible." We all jumped, stunned to see the female adult standing just behind the door way.

"Uh, H-how long have you been standing there?" I stammered, running a hand through my hair.

"Long enough." she replied, "Come inside." We brushed pass her and went into the kitchen, each sitting down on a chair around the table.

"Where's our 'Uncle'" I asked when I noticed he was no where in sight.

"He went to…" she paused, uncertain, "Run an errand." I raised a questioning eyebrow, but she changed the subject quickly. "Now, what's this about a Cullen family?"

I shifted nervously, looking at the others. They didn't seem to know what to say either, we didn't really discuss what we should say if it ever were to slip in front of an adult.

"Well?", she questioned expectantly.

Mark was first to speak, "You see…", he started, "we sort of think that this one family are vampires."

The female nodded her head, thinking, "And why do you think they are vampires?" she asked.

"They have incredibly pale skin;" Anna replied, "They have strange colored eyes, gold eyes; they are inhumanly beautiful. And…" she looked at me, "One if them reacted strange to Bella's smell."

The female looked at me, intrigued, "Really?"

I nodded, then added, "His eyes changed from gold to black when the fan blew on me."

"Interesting. And what about this encounter with another vampire."

"You pretty much heard all of it." I told her.

"Anything else?" She asked.

I concentrated on what happened, trying to see if I left any important detail out. I snapped my fingers when something popped up, "Yes!", I exclaimed, "He knows I'm a hunter. Either that or he thinks my name's 'Hunter'. Personally, I think it's the first one."

The female shook her head slowly, " You can be so weird," I heard her say. "Get to bed, my dear children...and niece…" We all looked at her. She is acting weird, I thought, She would usually yell it at us. "I said get to bed!" she yelled. There she is!, I thought.

We all ran to our room. Erik jumped on to the bed, letting out a big, unattractive, skunk smelling fart. There was a chorus of "Aw, man!" around the room.

"Erik Alexander Harris!", I exclaimed, covering my noise, "Hold your toxic gas inside would yah!"

Erik was far from listening; he was rolling on the floor from laughter. "Oh My God!" he laughed, "That was epic!""Farts cant be epic you sick, sick person!" I complained as I reached for my pajamas. "I'm going to go change before you let another one loose and kill all those poor deer out in the woods." I ran into the bathroom, pajamas hanging from my arm before hearing Anna say, "Aw, dude! Not again!" and some more laughter.

Most of the night was spent with all of us on the floor, laying on our stomachs in a circle, whispering jokes, talking about cute guys and girls from school, naming the weird teachers. It was like we were actually normal teenagers for once.

"Mark, you go." Mary whispered, "Who do you like?"

Mark tapped his chin in concentration, "Hmm, I don't know…I guess I sort of like Angela Weber."

Mary's eyes opened wide, "The nerdy looking one?" She exclaimed, we shushed her for being a little to loud. She just looked at us and repeated what she said quieter.

"Yeah," he shrugged, "I mean, behind those glasses and that pony tail, she's pretty good looking." Mary nodded understandingly. Then turned to me.

"So…" she smiled suggestively, " Who do you have the hots for, Bella?"

A picture of Edward popped into my mind. I shook my head, trying to get that image out, "I don't like anyone." I said.

Mary looked at me unbelieving, "Really? I hear when people say that, they usually like someone." she sang-whispered.

"Well I don't."

"What about Mike?" she countered.

I shuddered, "Ew, don't even think that, please."

"Mhm," she hummed.

I rolled my eyes and turned the topic away from me. "What about _you_, Mary?" Her cheeks flushed red as she looked down. "I take that as a yes?" I smiled.

"Yes," she breathed. The rest of us waited patiently. She sighed, "Its Tyler."

Anna and I glanced at each other. "…Nice." I finally said., "Anna, your turn."

She thought about it, lifting her head slightly up to the ceiling, "I…I don't think there's anyone I actually like."

"Seriously?" Erik asked, raising one bushy eyebrow.

Anna nodded, "Yeah, I mean, Some guys are cute, but way too immature for my taste. They all care about looks; boobs should be big, also our butts. We have to show a lot of skin. No thank you." Mary and I agreed. Erik…not so much.

"Girls should at least have one of these traits." He objected.

We shook our heads in annoyance. "Really, Erik? _Really_?" He looked lost. "Never mind."

"Well." Mark whispered getting up. "Aren't I hungry. I'm going to the kitchen to make a little something-something. Anyone else want to come?"

I, of course, was the first to get up with my hand raised, "Me!" I yelled-whispered, "As long as you make me my food."

He laughed, "Sure, I've got nothing better to do at two in the morning."

"Alright!" I fist pumped.

"Will you make _us _food?" Mary asked sweetly, pointing at herself and Anna. Mark nodded. "Yes." she whispered.

"Yes, non-work food!" Erik smiled.

Mark's head snapped towards him, smirking, "Not for you."

"But why?" Erik whined, swinging his body like a three year old.

"Your mean."

We made our way towards the kitchen, top toeing as to not wake up the adults. Mark was able to make us, except Erik, sandwiches. They were pretty good considering we haven't eaten all day. We knew we had to hurry with our food though, the adults wouldn't be too happy with us down here too late in the night. After chugging down our orange juice, we ran to our room, laughing for no reason.

"Food can really make you sleepy, huh?" I asked, rubbing my tummy. The others agreed, there backs in the floor.

"Well, I say we call it-" Anna started, but was interrupted by something white blurring by our window. "Did you guys see that?" We ran to the window, trying to see what could've done that, but all we could see were the forest.

We stood there, staring, until Mary finally said, "Maybe its just the wind blowing something by, we should go to sleep." The others nodded. I reluctantly walked to my sleeping area; I don't like leaving mysteries unsolved, its all part of being a hunter.

"Are you alright, Bella?" Erik asked, concerned. I gave him a fake smile and nodded. I had no idea how sleepy I was until my head hit the pillow, I went out like a light, only I wish I hadn't.

I was running bare foot through the forest, breathing heavily. I kept looking behind me when I bumped into something stone hard. I looked up from the ground and froze in fear as I saw three people standing over me. They were faceless, but had the same crimson red eyes as the man from the forest. I crawled back, only stopping when I reached a tree that was blacking my way. One tried to get at me, but I managed to move out of the way barley. It growled with anger as it turned to me again. I tried to get up, but stepped on something big and pointy. I gasped in pain as I looked at my now bloody foot. There was a huge cut right down the center. I looked up and saw the three staring at it with coal black eyes filled with hunger. I tried to run, but limping didn't get me far until I was thrown to the ground. My head hit the ground first, sending more pain through my body. The three surrounded me- I had a feeling if they had lips they would be smiling- one grabbing my leg with the bloody foot, another taking my arm, and the last one sitting by my throbbing head, and none of them felt the pain that any other person would by touching me. I looked them with my eyes pleading not to do what ever they were planning to. It didn't seem they paid any notice. Before I knew what was happened, they tore at my limbs, hard yet slowly. I cried out in pain, but they ignored it. The last one turned my head to the side, pressed its nonexistent lips to my neck and some how bit me.

I woke with a gasp and covered in sweat. Looking around the room, I found the others still sound asleep. My wrist watch said it was only five in the morning. Letting out an exasperated sigh, I laid back down. This is going to be a longer night than I thought.

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><p><strong>SOOOO what do my little amazing readers think? huh? huh?huh? what? sorry i cant hear you. Maybe it would be better if you review, yes? So go on, click the awsome button and REVIEEWWWwwwwwww (fading out)<strong>


	7. No way out of this Date!

**HEYYY!Sooo sorry for the one week wait! soooo i tried to make this extra long, i dont know if it is or not, and i tried to hrry up and get this down to not make you wait another day! On with the story!**

**Disclaimer:I dont own twilight yada yada yada**

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><p>Chapter six<p>

The next morning I found a hand shaped bruise around my neck and to say it was not pretty was an understatement. It was already purple and blue and had patches of black on the area of the fingertips. The others were surprised when they saw it, though I don't know why since I've told them of the attack.

"Whoa! Why is there a handprint on your neck?" Mary asked as she walked into the restroom. I was trying to cover it up with make up.

"My hand has some real attitude." I sighed dramatically, "I didn't want to put on nail polish so my hand got mad and WHAM, hand fight."

Mary looked at me annoyed, " Seriously! How come there's a bruise on your neck!"

"What's with all the yelling-" Erik started, but stopped when he saw the half covered bruise. "Damn, Why do you have a giant hickey the shape of a hand on your neck!"

I rolled my eyes, " I told you already!" I argued, "Vampire attack, remember?" They "Aw" understandingly while I just rolled my eyes and continued to cover it up.

"Done." I said, satisfied when it looked nearly completely gone. I walked out of the restroom and turned to the others, who were waiting for me to finish so that we could leave. "How does it look?" I asked.

"Good. Great." Erik complemented impatiently, "You look hot. Can we go now?"

I crossed my arms. "I meant the bruise, idiot."

"Like it wasn't even there. Can we go _now_?"

I let out a short laugh, "You never wanted to start school in the beginning! Now you cant wait to go? You're a freak."

He gave me a playful glare, "Don't question me woman." he said.

I rolled my eyes, but grabbed the keys. "Whatever man." I breathed. He was the first to run to the truck. I looked at the others questioningly, they shrugged, not knowing what was up with Erik either.

"Hurry up!", We heard him yell. Grunting, we reluctantly went to the truck. Erik was already inside, bouncing. I gave him a weird look, a look he ignored.

The whole ride he was bouncing in his seat, and quite frankly, it was getting pretty annoying. I gripped the steering wheel to keep myself from doing some damage to the boy.

When we got to the parking lot it was a bit full, we had to drive around for a couple of minutes to find a spot. Luckily we did, unluckily, it was by the Cullen Family. Their family surrounded their car. It was pretty unnerving having to be near them, mostly because I have a feeling Rosalie Hale doesn't necessarily like me. My 'family' didn't look too happy with this either, though it didn't stop Erik from moving a lot.

We got out of the truck, contemplating whether to stay by the car, or just go somewhere else. I was thankful when we didn't have to chose, I've never been happier to see Jessica inviting us- or Mary- over. Of course, Mary beamed and skipped over to her and her group, we just followed.

"Hey, Mary. I hope your feeling better." Jessica greeted.

"Uh, yeah." She looked at me urgently. We forgot to tell her the cover story.

I chimed in, "Food poisoning really sucks. She was passed out most of the day." Mary nodded in agreement.

"Anyways," Jessica sighed, looking at her nails, "I see you've decided to park next to the Cullen's. Pretty bold move."

"That was the only spot left." Mary defended quickly.

"Yeah well, I feel for you guys. Having to be near the freaks. No one really wants to know them, Who would?" She laughed.

Mary joined, "I know I wouldn't."

My head snapped to them, "You don't even know them." I argued, "They could be really cool people." My 'family' stared at me. "What?" I shrugged.

"No." Lauren laughed, "They couldn't. Like, just look at them." I turned my eyes in their direction, the short one, Alice Cullen, was the only one that was smiling. "A blind person can see that they're totally freaks."

She was starting to piss me off, "A blind person can see you're a total bit-"I started to say, but was stopped by Mary, who put her hand over my mouth.

"Oh that Bella." She laughed nervously, "Always so…talkative." Lauren smirked at me as I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Mary," I mumbled through her hand, " Remove your hand, or I will lick and bite it." She quickly took her hand away, knowing I was capable of coming through with my threats.

"Well," I said, "I'm going…" I looked around, "Anywhere but here." I started walking toward the main building, the others followed me. Mary didn't seem to happy.

"What the hell?" She exclaimed. "What was that?"

"That, Mary, was me not caring what they think." I answered annoyed. I continued walking until she grabbed my arm and turned me around.

"This is my first school experience." She argued, "And you are making it bad! They actually like me! You're making it hard!"

"Oh please," I scoffed, lowering my voice to a whisper, "If they knew about us, about what we do, they would be running the other direction. They'd treat us like the Cullen Family."

"But they don't." she countered, "C'mon, Bella. Please, I feel normal for once. Please don't ruin this, please." She made a puppy dog face. Guilt, I thought, The best strategy.

I groaned, "Fine! I wont ruin it for you even if it bothers me and goes against my nature to a giant extent."

The bell rang when Mary let out a high squeal, " Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!" She ran off to class. Erik was laughing.

"Shut up." I told him, before going the direction Mary went.

Reading class was uneventful. My eyes felt droopy as I kept them down on the reading list Mr. Mason gave us. I let out an involuntary yawn, Mr. Mason turned to give me a small glare.

"Is this class to boring for you, Ms. Carter?" He asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Sort of," I mumbled.

He looked at me. "What was that?"

"No, Mr. Mason. Not at all. Please continue." I urged. He uncrossed his arms and went back to the lesson.

"Hey," I heard Mike whisper, "Bella."

I turned to him, mouthing "what?". He pointed at the bottom of my chair, telling me to look. I did as he told me and found a piece of paper, sloppily folded. I looked at him but went back to the paper when he winked.

'Will you go out with me? Circle: Yes or no' It read. I raised my eyebrow, thinking, Hell to the no!

Mary looked over at the paper and smiled. "Are you going to say yes?" she whispered, hopeful.

Disgusted with the simple idea of dating him I said, " Gross."

Anna let out a quiet laugh, "I agree with, Bella." I beamed while Mary just rolled her eyes. I got my pencil and put a squiggly circle around the 'no' but before I could give it to him, Mary tore it out of my hands.

"Anna, hold Bella." She whispered as she reached for a pencil. I tried to get the paper back but was stopped by the traitor.

"Anna?" I whispered, shocked. " Why? I thought you agreed with me?"

She smiled, "Yes, but this is fun and I am bored."

I struggled to get free from Anna's hold, watching as Mary erased my circle and moved it to 'yes'. My eyes widened when she threw it to Mike; only then did Anna let go. I saw as Mike opened it, smiled and winked at me.

I smiled nervously as I slowly turned around to face the front. "Oh boy." I whispered.

The bell rang soon after, and sadly, Mike decided to wait for me. It was time to make an escape plan. I'll try to look interested in a random piece of paper and pretend not to notice him then when I get far enough, pretend not to hear him if he comes after me. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Sucks for me, I thought.

"Hey, Bells," he smiled, a bit too warmly for my liking, "Pick you up at 7 tonight?"

I sighed, "Listen, Mike, there was a bit of a misunder-" I started to say, but someone covered my mouth.

"She will be ready and waiting!" Mary answered, I tried to talk through her hand, but damn, even I couldn't understand myself.

Mike beamed and said "Great." before walking off to lunch.

I licked Mary's hand, making her squeal and wipe her hand on her thigh, sharing with me a disgusted face.

"Damn," I frowned, "I didn't get to bite your hand."

She playfully glared at me, "Sorry to disappoint. C'mon, why don't you want to go out with him!"

"For starters," I explained, holding up my finger, "I don't like him. I don't think he's cute, which, correct me if I'm wrong, is needed to want to date someone. Second," I stopped, "Actually, no that's pretty much all I need."

"C'mon" she pleaded, "Give it a chance. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

I took off my glove and lifted it saying, "I can think of a couple things." Mary, shook her head, dismissing the idea. I sighed, "Can we go to the library instead? Mike might want to sit next to me, and all I can say is, no thank you."

The girls nodded and headed the toward our destination. We barley noticed the guys weren't with us, but just ignored it. They probably left before us, thus not knowing our decision.

The library seemed empty and especially chilly today, I didn't mind that much though, I sort of like the cold. We sat at a table farthest from the door and the check out desk. At first, we looked around for books; Something to entertain us during class or when new have nothing to do at home. Sadly, none of the books really stood out to us, so we just decided to talk. Not about the job- it wasn't safe with suspected vampires around- but about random girl stuff. Mary kept complaining on how she needed a new wardrobe, Anna kept trying to convince her otherwise. As for me, I kept trying to persuade them both to get me off my unwanted date with Newton. All this was interrupted by a text message from Erik demanding our whereabouts.

"They barley noticed now that we weren't there?" Anna questioned, raising an eyebrow before sending a reply.

It didn't take long before the guys walking through the doors…with Mike. They came and sat with us, sadly Mike chose so sit next to me. I tried not slap the guys for bringing the person I've been trying to avoid. I scooted my chair closer to Anna, but he was quick and put his arm around me before I could do anything.

"So, Bella," He started, trying to act cool, "Excited for tonight?" I wiggled out of his grasp, wishing the bell would ring already.

"Actually, about that," I tried to day, but my 'cousins' really want me to go on this date.

"Yeah, she is," Mary laughed, "She's been talking about it non stop! I wish she would shut up."

"I wish you would shut up." I snapped, though she didn't seem fazed, she just kept smiling.

Mike ignored my mini outburst, mistaking it with embarrassment "Don't worry, I'll make it the best day ever." I held back a groan. I really, really didn't want to go out with him.

"So," Erik smirked, "Your first date, how romantic."

Mike beamed as he looked at me, "Your first date? Sweet!" I looked at him confused, "I mean, how come you never gone out with someone before."

I glared at Erik, "No one ever asked me" I explained, which was half the truth, no one ever asked me but that was only because we weren't allowed to.

I tried to move away as Mike took a strand of loose hair and tucked it behind my ear. "I don't know why they never asked you, you are very pretty." he complemented. Any other person I would've blushed, now I just feel uncomfortable.

"Uh, thanks." Thankfully the bell rang and I made a run for the library door. Ignoring the others calls I tried to go straight to the classroom sadly, I was stopped by Jessica, who grabbed my arm a little to roughly.

"I hear your going out with Mike tonight," she said, trying to remain calm.

"Sadly." I pursed my lips.

"Well," she grumbled, "I hope you have a great time." Seems to me she wished otherwise, her eyes were angry despite her voice. I longed to tell her, 'No! Tell me not to! Threaten me! Give me an excuse', but I kept my mouth shut, forced a smile, and continued to class. The rest of the way there I was thinking of ways to ditch the date and scribbled the ideas on the piece of paper, writing 'Ditch the date extravaganza' as the title. I was too intrigued in my plan that I hadn't noticed somebody seating by my chair.

"Hello, Bella." greeted an all too familiar velvet voice. My eyes snapped beside me, and was shocked to see Edward Cullen in all his glory. I stared at his eyes, realizing they weren't black this time, but gold.

"Uh, H-hi?" I stuttered, confused. It only takes two days for vampires to recover?, I thought, I thought it would take longer. Apparently my confused face was amusing, the only thing that came out of his mouth was a chuckle. I ignored it and turned back to my paper of plans. So far I only had a couple of ideas and I needed more.

"Bella!" Mike yelled. My eyes widen as I threw the paper on the floor. "You ran out before I could catch up with you!"

"I…" I struggled for an excuse, "Just love this class." He seemed to buy it, though he didn't seem to know why I liked this class, or any class for that matter.

"So, I was thinking movies, what do you think?"

I sighed, hopefully someone doesn't stop me. "Mike, I don't-"

"Oh," Mike interrupted, looking over my head, "I got to go, see you at seven!"

I let out a frustrated groan, pulling at the roots of my hair, "Really?" ,I whispered ,"I just want to say no, that's it!" I heard a chuckle beside me. I turned and glared at Edward, who was holding my paper of plans. "Not. Funny." I growled, tearing the paper out of his hands.

"'Ditch the date extravaganza'?" he laughed again, mesmerizing me with its sound, "If you don't want to go why don't you just tell him? Instead of making these silly plans."

I sighed in irritation, "You know, For the first time back since I'm here, you are awfully annoying. And for your information, my cousins are very keen in getting me to go to this date."

Again, he laughed, and again, I was mesmerized. It was just so beautiful. I tried not to let it daze me, but it was incredibly hard.

"Yes, I know. My family's been saying that. And your cousins, why?"

"I don't know, class was boring at the time and seeing me suffer was apparently funny."

Mr. Banner came in before Edward could reply. The rest of the class went by quickly. Edward didn't act too weird today. He did though seem a little reluctant to talk to me, which I heard was normal. Everyone says him and his family usually don't talk to people outside themselves. What did get on my nerves was when Mike kept sending me notes. One even held a cliché poem, the kind that starts of with 'Roses are red violets are blue'. I was tempted to scribble out the last lines and write my own, saying, 'this poem is lame and so are you.' but talked my self out if it.

I was pretty thankful when the bell rang, thinking I'd finally get my free time from Mike. I was mistaken apparently. He waited for me by the door, earning me a couple of smirks from my 'family'.

"Hey." he greeted, making the word long. I forced a smile walking passed him. I would've waited for the others but they ditched me but I swore I would get them back for this. "What class do you have next?" he asked, walking beside me.

"Gym."

"Really?" he beamed, "Me too!" I stopped dead in my tracks.

"You do?" he nodded, "Great." I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

He continued walking, saying, "I wonder why I haven't seen you there. You'd think I'd notice someone as pretty as you around."

I rolled my eyes. He is trying way to hard, I thought. It seems that walking to gym seems more painful when your with this guy. I nearly ran to the girls locker room after he tried- and failed-to kiss me. I found my 'cousins' laughing hysterically while changing.

"Well, well ,well," I said, walking towards them, "If it isn't the traitors" They stopped to stare at me only to start laughing again. "This isn't funny!"

"Yes, it is.", they chorused. I huffed in annoyance before going to change, myself.

Coach Clapp had announced, after everyone had dressed out, that we were going to play basketball, sadly he didn't let us pick our teams this time. I prayed to god he didn't put me in the same team as Mike, though my prayers were in vain for that's exactly what he did.

"Do you know how to play basketball?" Mike asked as we got on the court.

"No. Now please leave me alone right now, I think I'm getting my monthly present. "I lied. I was getting tired of him and the talking and the questions and all the words.

"Oh…Uh…Sure."

Smiling, I did a mental fist pump. I was a little surprised at how simple that was, thinking he would've objected or something, never the less, I didn't mind.

Turns out, I'm not that good in basketball. I kept hitting people on the head with the ball, missing the hoop, making it go over the back board, and if I did by some miracle manage to get the ball into the hoop, it would be the wrong one. Coach Clapp kept looking at me with a "What the hell was that?" face, I just laughed, not really taking any of this seriously.

By the end of gym, everyone pretty much avoided me, even in the locker room. My cousins kept hurrying me up, reminding me of the horror of my date with Mike. Of course, that only made me go slower, but that didn't really stop them from helping me dress. It was rather amusing to see. I also tried to _drive _slow,- well slower than the truck already went- but Anna used her power on me so that plan also went down, I just gave up all together.

"So, what are we going to tell the adults." I asked them, "We were never really allowed to date before, I doubt they'll let us now."

Anna's eyes squinted in concentration, "I guess we tell her you had to go to blend in." she finally said, "You know, the same reason we are doing everything else."

I nodded in agreement as we pulled into the drive way. "Okay, well, he said it was he would pick me up at seven so that leaves me about, four hours of heaven before hell."

We walked into the house and set our backpacks down on the kitchen table before going into the living room.

"Aunt Sarah!", Mary sang, "We need to talk to you." It didn't take long for her to come through the doorway, looking rather…unhealthy.

"Well, don't you look lovely," I complemented sarcastically, eyeing her baggy sweatpants and loose tank top.

"Hush up, Isabella." she retorted, "Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Well," Erik started, stretching out the word, "Bella has a date tonight."

"What?" she said, turning her head to the side, like she heard wrong.

"I have a date tonight," then I added quickly, "I tried to say no but they were many people interrupting me!"

"No, you cant go." she stated firmly.

"Oh well," I sighed, "I tried, seems like there's no way I cant get out of this. Ill just cancel. What a pity." I made a run for the door but Mary stopped me.

"Wait," I turned around reluctantly, she turned back to the female, "Why cant she go?"

"We needed you guys to go to La push."

"I thought you guys said that we would wait a while before going." Mary argued.

"Actually, that was for you guys not to miss school. Your not in school right now and we've been informed we need to get eyes in there A.S.A.P."

"By who?" Mary raised an eyebrow.

"By Mr. Six." everyone stayed quiet, "Yeah. Exactly."

Erik snapped his fingers, "I have an idea!" he smiled, I pled with my eyes for him not to continue, he ignored it, "What if, instead of Bella going to wherever he planned on taking her, they go to La push! That way it wont be too weird or anything."

"Horrible idea!" I yelled quickly, the female looked at me weirdly.

"No, Isabella," she said, "That's actually a pretty good idea. We'll go with that. When does he plan on picking you up?"

"Seven." I sighed.

"Okay then, when he arrives ask him if he knows where La push is. If he does, great, if he doesn't, well I'll give you the directions right now."

I nodded, and went to our room. I hate you Erik, I thought, why must you choose now to have an idea!

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><p><strong>Sorry if its not that good, i was sorta planning on making this one the one with the actual date but then i thought..What would ihave for the next chapter O_o! sooo yeaaahhh, Jacob black might be introduced nexxt chapter. tell me what you think! PS: Ill make sure to put more edward conversation!-<em>AmericasAngel<em>**


	8. dateness and madness

**(Edited...again-_-) if this is your first time reading the story, dont bother readin the edit. if not well...chapter eight top part explains stuff-_-**

**(edited) OKKAAYY! i had to make a change, sooooo i took this chapter off and reposted it! Maybe you'll notice it && ,maybe you dont, (hope fully you dont )**

**(Original)! SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY! PERDON PERDON PERDON PERDON PERDON! I AM ASHAMED! I DESEREVE TO BE EXECUTED! THIS DESEREVES NO EXPLINATION! SO IM NOT GUNNU GIVE ONE!AANNYWHOOOOOO! **

**disclamier; i dont own twilight...yadda yadda bom ba ya! ONE WITH THE STORY!**

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><p>Chapter Seven<p>

It was about an hour before Mike came that the female gave me some files to study.

For the past six months there had been 12 disappearances:

Samantha Davis

Jordan Wilkinson

Bryan Jones

Aylin Garcia

Christian Brown

Kimberly Miller

Estefany Johnson

Albert Anderson

Bree Tanner

Gilbert Lee

Mariah Parker

Riley Biers

Estimably, one was taken every two weeks. People outside La Push reservation are the ones being taken, and it seems to be random. Elderly, teenagers, middle ages; blondes, brunettes, redheads; nothing specific. Only four from the others have been found dead, but their bodies have been too mangled for a clear identification or evidence. The only way they knew it was them was with the dental records.

With out knowing anything specific, anything that screams out 'Supernatural!' (like unique bite marks, unique claw marks, etc.) It's hard to tell if any of this even a supernatural. All though, the simple fact that Mr. Six gave them this job has to mean it is. I just wish it gave us more to go on.

"So, why did you want to go to La Push?" Mike asked, glancing at me before keeping his eyes on the road. For some reason, he seems reluctant to go to La Push, possibly knowing what has happened there.

"I just heard it's a really cool place." I lied, "There's a beach there right?"

"Yeah, and the cool part, when you make a fire on the beach, the fire is blue!" Mike said, grinning as I replied.

"No way!" I faked enthusiasm, mentally throwing every curse word I could think of at Erik for deciding to have a brain tonight.

Silence filled the car once again, neither one of us knowing what else to say. I looked out the window as I fidgeted with my gloves on my hands, watching the green covered trees zoom us by. It's sad to think _this _is going to be my first date-with a guy I don't like while doing a job. I suppressed a sigh as we came across the sign with the baby blue bold words that read 'La Push'.

Mikes outstanding introduction was a simple, "We're here." It was so hard not to give him a standing ovation. It was _that_ inspiring.

As we got out of the car, I took the chance to look around. It seemed familiar for some reason-like I've been here- and that sort of confused me. I've been kept in Division most of my life, and since I got out to do these jobs, I've never come close to Washington State, let alone an actual location in it.

_There were a lot of teenagers here considering it's a week night, though I'm guessing that wouldn't stop them from anything, I mean, I'm here aren't I?_

Mike came to my side, before asking, "You haven't been before right?" as I smiled, shaking my head, "No, but this place is great for first impressions."

It really was amazing. I can see why a lot of people like it. The scene was beautiful. It looked like the tides were calm, peaceful almost. I especially loved the giant rocks, standing tall like walls; dotting the water. The cloudy sky gave it some sort of comforting feeling.

"Great," Mike said, "I'll be your tour guide!"

_At least it wont be as awkward as I thought it would be_. Even though I don't know much about Mike, I can tell we don't really have much in common, so things probably would have ended with an awkward silence. He tugged at my arm pulled me closer towards the beach.

There wasn't much to see in this beautiful place, and Mike wasn't being that good at 'tour guiding' as he puts it. In fact, he sucks at it, I mean just showing me spots where him and his friends would hang out and do weird guy stuff isn't that helpful in getting to know the place, well for me.

Again, we came to a stop by some store, house thing, place. It was too big to be either though.

He leaned on its wooden wall before looking at me. "We did a prank on the librarian that works here once." Not a store, not a house, but a library. Nice." The guys kept distracting her, like making her get up to look for books and stuff, "he explained, I nodded like I cared about every word he said, " I put some water on her seat and when she got back," he snorted, "she got her ass wet! Her face was priceless! You should've seen it."

To my surprise, my laugh wasn't forced. It wasn't because the prank was funny, (lame was a better word for it), but because he himself thought it was amazing and impressive. My laughing encouraged Mike to keep on going and making faces that, my guess, were suppose to resemble that of the librarian he pranked. That made me stop laughing, it was some scary shit man! That guy does not know how to be a girl.

Once he took notice of my non- laughing-ness, he calmed down just as fast as I did.

He cleared his throat, "Want to keep walking?" he suggested, as he straightened up from the wall. Of course, with me being me and what not, I agreed. We went straight to the direction of the actual beach. Romantic place to be, sad if its with this guy, Mike Newton. I don't know what came over him, but he was starting to make some moves on me, and it creeped me out a little bit. He wrapped an arm around me waist and tried to pull me close to him. Let him have his fun, I thought, For about five seconds. One…two…three-four-five!

"Is that a butterfly?" I yelled before running off straight ahead, taking me right out of his weird, with out muscle, arms.

I kept running until there was a good 25 yard distance in between us before I stopped and put on my best sad face, "No," I sighed, "It was just a yellow piece of paper."

"So you like butterflies?" He smiled more to himself than me, "Good to know."

Yes, I wanted to know what he meant by that. But no, I didn't want to be freaked out again so I just kept quite. He better not use this information, its not like it'll do anything though. I think butterflies are awesome, but not really my favorite thing out there. I'm more of a lizard and creepy bugs (not the kind like Mike) kind of girl.

We started talking about random, unimportant stuff. He was the one talking most of the time, I just stood there, listening and pretending to know exactly what the heck he was talking about, putting in 'oh' and 'Ah' and 'cool' at the proper moments. The topic varied between lame teachers, incredibly hard as hell homework assignments, (his words not mine) and movies.

Up side on Mike talking most of the time! I didn't have to improvise on those subjects. Down side? Many. Mike's chattering was keeping me from doing my job. The female wants me to bring some information back, the info is basically mandatory. Though, I don't know how to do that during a date, I wasn't exactly trained for that. Plus, his talking gets annoying.

"-and that punch to the face was epic wouldn't you think?" Mike continued to talk as I gave him a fake smile, saying, "Heck yea! Epic!" before turning away and letting out my true annoyed feelings show in my face.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, "Have you seen the show 'Supernatural'?" he asked.

I shook my head before saying "No, but I have a feeling your going to talk ab-"

"It's a really awesome show," He interrupted, getting really animated as he got ready to explain, "Its about these two guys fighting the supernatural! You know, demons, witches, werewolf, vampires and all. They call themselves hunters…" I smiled to myself, thinking how ironic this conversation was, never the less, I still didn't care. "And they go all over the country, finding these creatures. There's a lot of blood, too! It's like 'Whoa Man!'. I can't believe you've never seen the show before! Most of the girls say that Dean Winchester is hot. I think they could use a blond guy like me, but hey, that's show bizz right?" Mike took a breather, not having paused through out his little rant. I took this as a chance to get information, hopefully he isn't as clueless as he unknowingly makes himself to be.

"Hey, what do you know anything about the people disappearing around here?" I asked.

Mike looked confused, "Not much, why?"

As I shrugged I tugging at my sleeves, saying "Just making conversation. So what do you know? " I hoped I wasn't being too forward, but I really need as much info as possible.

Mike clearly looked uncomfortable, "They never told us much," he said, ",just that they think it's some sort of animal coming and going into the region."

I could tell my work face was peeking through my little façade.

"Have they told anyone what kind of animal it is?" I asked quietly before he shook his head.

"Um, I don't think so." he answered, "My mom thinks it was just some mountain lion, but-" He stopped, unsure if he should continue.

"But what?" I asked, pressing for information.

"Nothing. I-Its nothing." He stuttered as he looked at the floor.

It's insensitive, I know, to feel frustrated at the boy who is starting to look upset, legitimately upset, but I can't help it. Mike just has that affect on people, (maybe not Jessica, but still). Drastic times calls for drastic measures.

"C'mon, you can tell me." I persuaded, trying to add a little flirtatious tone. "I wont tell anyone."

Apparently that's all it took, flirting, to get him to start talking.

"One of the people was a friend of mine," he started, "His name was Bryan. I was with him the day they took him."

I remembered seeing the name on the file the female gave me. "They? I thought it was an animal attack?"

He let out a short laugh, "You're going to think I'm crazy."

I was silent before finally replying to him and looking at him in the eye. "You'd be surprised how well I handle crazy." I said, thinking it was just down my alley of expertise.

Still, he seemed reluctant, but I turned on the charm -I didn't know I had -and once again got him to talk.

"I -I just saw a person in the woods before seeing a giant animal before Bryan was taken." he said.

"How did the animal look like?" I asked.

Mike sighed, rubbing his temples, "It was like a bear but at the same time it wasn't. The face looked like a wolf I guess. But it was like the size of a horse, from what I could tell at least."

This caught my attention. Now this is what I was looking for; some hint it was supernatural. Certainly something to think about, a person, then a horse sized wolf-like animal. The wolf part was what made something pop into my head; _werewolf_.

"What?" Mike asked.

I wasn't aware I had voiced my thoughts. "Uh, nothing. Listen, it looks like its about to rain and its getting late," I said, looking at the darkening sky, "I should be heading home, I'm rarely allowed out around this time."

Mike nodded, getting up from the sand. We walked to the car in silence, the wind was blowing a little roughly as it got ready to rain. I glanced to the side, seeing a group of guys in staring at us-well me- while whispering stuff to each other. They were all really tan and shirtless, only wearing cut-off shorts. I must say, they had muscle. I don't understand why they were staring at me though. It wasn't like 'you're the new kid at school' staring, this was an intense 'I know what you did last summer' kind of stare, it was really uncomfortable. Mike noticed and asked if everything was okay, I just nodded, hurrying into his car.

Like the ride to La push, the ride back was just as awkward. We didn't have much to talk besides school and I've only been there a week so I didn't have much to say on that either. So imagine my disappointment when we had to stop for gas. He pulled into a near Seven Eleven and parked by a pump closer to the door.

Before he got out of the car he turned to look at me, "Why don't you go inside and see if you want something." he suggested, "My treat."

I nodded even though I knew wasn't going to get anything, I thought, _Hey_, _why not get out of the car?_

Mike walked me inside and went to straight to the cashier to pay for the gas. He gestured toward the small, close together, isles and said to get anything I wanted. I've only been to gas stations every now and then when we were on the rode between cases, even then the adults rarely allowed us out of the car.

I went to some random isle and acted like I knew what I was doing. According to what I saw on the shelves, I was in the candy isle, and I liked it. There were different verities, Skittles, M&M's, Ice Breakers, something called Sour Straws, it all looked so good! I kept walking down the isles and kept staring at more and more candy.

Suddenly, I felt an arm wrap around my waist. By pure instinct I jumped at the close contact and let out an embarrassed laugh when I noticed it was just Mike. I didn't know I was I was taking a long time to 'choose' a candy.

"So, see anything you like?" he asked, I knew he was talking about more than the candy, though pretended like I didn't.

"These Skittles look pretty good." I said, quickly reaching for the candy and made my way towards the register. He slowed me down, though, as he grabbed my hand continued to walked beside me. I struggled to remove my hand, so, like what any other person would do, I faked the need to tie my shoe. That worked. I fiddled with the laces and stood up, not expecting what Mike did next (though I knew I should've).

He kissed me! Right on the lips!

I pulled back quickly as I felt him wince. My mind was filled with two words repeated three times; _Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!_

He felt it. Even worse, he felt it in _public. _Much worse? He felt it in a gas station. This is not good, not good at all. He _had _to be a hormonal teenager, he _had_ to kiss me on the first date. I _had_ to be so freaking beautiful to him, this has got to be a joke.

My mind was in freak-the freak-out mode and thinking a million problems a minute. What if he knows? What if he starts telling people? Could this mean a problem for my 'family' and I? What the hell?…Was I a good kisser?

"What was that?" Mike asked as he touched his lips.

I tried to keep my cool as I watched his face, "W-What was what, Mike?" Shoot, I stuttered. I'm no good in these types of situations. Damn, I need to start like a 'How to act when your kisses hurt people literally One-Oh-One'.

He looked at me confused, "You mean you didn't feel that?"

"Nope." I said, playing it off with a laugh, "Maybe it's the fireworks people say when they kiss right?" Okay, maybe not the _best_ thing to say, but I've never have to deal with something like this before. Not just being kissed by a guy that grosses me out, but having to deal with _normal_ teenagers, too!

I just left the Skittles on some shelf and left the store; my eyes focused on the ground.

He didn't even think anything of it, I told myself, Everything's still cool; nothing bad. God, I cant believe he's that thick.

But out of all the questions running through my head, one stood out the most. _Why didn't he feel it as badly as any other person? _Slightest touch, still maximum pain. Why is it that it was only 'wince' worthy and not 'withering on the floor'?

That question was all that I thought about the rest of the ride back. Mike didn't really notice. I'm guessing he thought I was dazed with that smile he wore on his face the whole time. Guys.

Just like I thought, my 'cousins' were waiting for me inside, bombarding me with questions as soon as I walked in. Mary kept asking me what we did, Erik was asking for perverted details, Mark wanted to know if I had any information and Anna was just standing there. It didn't take long for the female came walking from the living room to the kitchen, asking the same thing as Mark.

"Newton was talking a lot while we were there," I said, "so I didn't really get to ask much to anyone besides him."

Everyone was silent before the female guessed, "So, what your saying is that you didn't get anything." Her tone was a little frightening, it had that little "or else" vibe to it.

"No", I stuttered slightly, "He actually was a good source. He was friends with one of the kidnapped. Bryan Jones. He was with him the day he was taken." I looked at the others before I continued; they were sitting down, looking up at me like I was a teacher. "He said that people think it was just any ordinary animal attack, but that he saw someone by the woods, and something else before Bryan Jones disappeared. Newton described it as resembling a wolf's face, yet being the size of a really big horse."

"See?", Mary smiled, "I knew you going out with Newton wasn't going to be all that useless"

While everyone were laughing, I glared, walking to the fridge and taking out the two liter Dr. Pepper bottle. I didn't bother getting a glass, I just unscrewed the top and drank it from there, ignoring the stares of my 'cousins'.

"Anyway, with the new facts, what do you think this could be?" Erik asked.

The female looked expectantly at us; everyone stayed quiet, thinking. Mary was the first to speak.

"What if its like, the Skunk Ape?" She suggested, earning a strange look from me.

"What the hell is a Skunk Ape?" I asked. A picture of a small ape lifting its white stripped tail to release a horrid odor appeared in my mind.

Obviously Mary didn't know either, she kept stuttering while she tried to explain, "Well, you know, that-um- that…ape person…that smells bad-Ugh! You know! Skunk Ape!" We just went back to thinking. I still don't know if it really as a werewolf, the description fit most folklore, but not necessarily the werewolves we've encountered before. I should've thought to ask him if it was a full moon that night. Then again, that would be weird to bring up in a conversation,. To anyone that doesn't believe in the supernatural, the simple fact whether the moon was full or not would be irrelevant.

"What if it's a Skinwalker?" Mark said, "I mean, they can turn into any animal. And Mike said he saw a person before he saw the animal."

"I would've said wendigos," Erik added, "But they stay in…somewhat human form."

"So we have Skinwalkers, Wendigos,…and Skunk Apes…" The female stated, trying and failing miserably, to hold back a laugh making Mary huff. "Anyways, anymore ideas before you guys head of to bed?"

"Why are we headed off to bed this early?" I asked, looking at my watch, "Its barely going to be ten o'clock."

She was silent before she suggested, "Well, I thought you guys would like to get some actual sleep tonight, seeing as though you've barley been having any the past couple of nights. See it as a simple act of kindness for today."

We took that act of kindness gladly; running to our rooms quickly and changing into our pajamas so that we can go fast asleep. Sure, the floor wasn't that comfortable, and I could see some bugs better from that point of view, and I worry a tiny bit about one of my fellow roommates getting up during the night to relieve themselves and accidentally step on me, but hey, its worth it.

Just as soon as I was about to slip into peaceful unconsciousness, Mary woke me up. She woke me up for some details on the date, tried to postpone my slumber for the dish, tried to halt my sweet coma for a talk, tried to put a pause to my dreams for the Newton. She only managed to wake me up enough for me to hear her, not enough for me not to go back to sleep, so I ignored her, but she kept asking and asking and asking until finally, the room was filled with the words 'Mary, shut the hell up and go to sleep!' from everyone in the room. It was freaky how they all said the same thing at the same time, yet it was also funny. Mary huffed, before finally letting it drop and settled back down on the floor.

I clearly remembered the nightmare I had the night before, still, I prayed it wouldn't appear again. I was really tired, and I don't want an illusion to ruin my sleep.

The next couple of days was spent with us trying to figure out who or what were causing the disappearances. I voiced my thought of it maybe being a werewolf, which was added to the possibilities. The adults wanted to take us to La Push that weekend; I didn't really care, as long as Newton didn't come with us.

The two school days left for the week went by quickly. Mike wanted to go on another date with me, luckily Anna and Mary let me answer for myself, so of course it was a no. He was confused but kept on asking me, earning a spot on my not well liked list. All of my cousins managed to make a lot of new friends, even Erik, the guy that thought it wasn't worth looking at these people. I'm the only one that hasn't, so I'm a little left out from stuff now, besides the time we have together in class.

Edward didn't really talk to me, much to my dismay. The only time he did was when he _had_ to in Biology, having to work together on an investigation, even then his eyes seemed careful. For some reason it saddened me, but I let it go, he was a vampire after all. We would have to kill him and the others as soon as we figure out the little fire problem thing, so I knew I shouldn't talk to him either. I doubt I'd get close to him or any of them, but I didn't want to take the risk.

Well, when we finally did go to La Push, the adults made us do something like the buddy system. It was around the end of the two week period and someone was yet to be taken, so we wanted to be careful. Only one weird thing happened; the same group of guys that were staring at me on my date with Newton, were staring at _us _now. The others thought it was just some sort of normal teen thing but when I told them they did the same thing on Wednesday, they got a little worried. Thankfully, no one got kidnapped, that was the highlight of my day- well, until Erik went along and annoyed me then I wished he was taken.

I wasn't looking forward to Monday; Mondays suck, that's a fact well known around the country. There's just something about that day that no one likes, maybe it's the idea that after two days of getting to sleep in, two days of not having to do school work, Mondays comes and ruin it, mocking us saying "Ho, Ho, Ho, I came to ruin your life," in a weird French accent. Either way, no power in the world can stop that horrid day from coming, so when it finally did come, I sucked it up, rolled off of the my…floor area…and got ready for the day.

Not even half way through the day, and Mike was _still _asking me out. Jessica and Lauren were shooting daggers at me and Mary, insulting us every chance they got. I found out from Angela, the sweet one from the crowd, that Tyler is starting to have a liking for Mary, pretty much explaining Lauren's sudden need to actually completely show her hatred for us.

"So Bella," Lauren's lips shifted into a wicked smile, "You're the Harris' cousin, right?"

I nodded, barley looking up from the floor as I made my way to the cafeteria alone.

"Why arent you back in Texas with your family?" She's the second person, (Mike was first) to bring that subject up.

To say the truth, it was actually depressing; it made me think about my _real_ family and parents, if I had any. How would they be like? Would they be cool or would they be like the ones on T.V; distant from one another and not very loving?

I couldn't help some of the real depressed tone to seep through my voice, "My parents died in a car accident."

"Oh, that's so sad." she replied, but that wicked smile had yet to leave her face. "What were their names, may I ask?" she asked while I panicked; the adults never told me what the names were.

"I'd rather not talk about it." I finally said.

Lauren grabbed me roughly by the arm, "Listen," she sneered, "Tell your sweet little cousin to back off of Tyler. He's mine."

I pulled away as her nails began to dig through the sleeve, "Wow, you just get right to the point don't you? How did a conversation about my family change to you and Tyler so quickly?"

"I don't care about your dead parents, just tell Harris to leave Tyler alone." She spat.

"Why don't you just tell her yourself? She's probably sitting at the lunch table right now." I asked.

"I don't want to talk to that little-!" she quickly recomposed herself, looking at me straight in the eye, "Just give her the message, or I'll make your lives hell."

I was left staring at her back as she walked away overly confident. It just took a second to decide I rather be somewhere other than the cafeteria, somewhere my 'family' and I would always go; the always, it was nearly empty, happily giving me the chance to sit where ever I wanted to. The far off table near the corner seemed appealing, so, like a girl that has found a priceless necklace, I ran to it, immediately marking it mine with my bag and books scattered all over the table.

Letting out a content sigh, I went to find a book. Though my last attempt with my cousins was unsuccessful, I wished this time would be different. I looked through the non-fiction section, the biographies, the informational ones, but of course, none were in my area of interest. Finally, I went to the fictional stories while thinking that's where any other teenager would find good stories.

It was entertaining, reading the summaries on the back of the books and realizing they were all almost about the same thing, immortal creatures, and two completely different race falling madly in love with each other.

At one point, I just closed my eyes, slid my finger across a random shelf then stopped and got the book my finger was on. Only when I reached my table did I look to see what book I got, _'Series of Unfortunate Events: The Vile Village_'. I have no idea what this is, I thought, Chapter One…

I was lost after a couple of pages but kept on reading. So far I knew the characters were Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire and some guy named Mr. Poe.

A sweet voice interrupted as I was about to turn the page, "May I sit here?"

I looked up, stunned to see it was Edward Cullen. My eyes swept the room as my mind filled with confusion. _Why would he want to sit with me when there were a lot of empty tables?_

About to voice my thoughts, he spoke up, eyeing the book in my hand, "You've read the other ones already?"

"Others?" I asked, confused, "What others?"

He let out a soft laugh as he replied, "It's a series, hence the name '_Series_ of Unfortunate Events'" he pointed at my book, "That's the seventh one."

I felt incredibly stupid as I replied, "That explains why I'm lost after eight pages. I thought that was just me."

He sat down in the chair in front of mine as I moved my class book out of the way to make some space for his.

"Don't take this the wrong way," I said, "But why are you sitting here, suddenly talking to me?"

"I talk to you…in Biology. I thought our conversation about prophase and anaphase was quite educational."

My eyes narrowed at his reply, "You know what I mean."

"Looked like you needed company." he answered with a shrug.

Another question popped into my mind, "Why aren't you with your family?"

"Why aren't you with yours?" he countered.

"I asked first." I stated

"I asked second. So I answer second also." His lips twitched at the corner.

"Please just answer the question." He was beginning to irritate me, I wonder if all vampires are like that; irritating.

He sighed, smirking, "They got annoyed, wanted me to leave."

"Hmm, I wonder why I'm not surprised."

He playfully glared at me, "Now you answer, why aren't you with your family."

"I didn't want to be with them," I said simply, "Wanted some 'me' time; which you just ruined by the way."

He faked sadness as he replied, "My apologies, how incredibly rude of me. I shall leave if you wish."

"I'm sorry," I laughed, "I still cant get through my head that the great Edward Cullen is actually communicating with someone other than his family." _Not to mention the fact the you're acting so freely compared to the description the other kids gave me of you. They made you seem like the Doom of Gloom type._

"I'm just as surprised as you are." I heard him mutter. His voice was so quiet, so faint that I doubt he meant for me to hear.

"So how long have you lived in Forks?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"About two years," he said, "We moved down here from Alaska."

I slowly nodded, looking around quietly. My actions, it seems, have frustrated him. He had that same look on his face he wore when my cousins were introducing themselves the first day.

"Why did you move here?" he asked.

I thought back to when the adults told us our cover story, trying to remember the 'why' of this move, mentally cursing when I realized they haven't told us. In fact, they barely told us anything at all, they just gave us the basics not the details, the small important details. Anna made up the whole 'we come from Texas' thing; we should've realized this sooner.

"Bella?" he asked when I didn't answer.

"Oh um," I stuttered, "I don't know why they wanted to move, they just did I guess."

"Why did you come with them then?" Something in his eyes lead me to believe he knew why. The depressed feeling of the subject swept over me like a light feather, though I was still slightly glad I was given a question I was prepared to answer.

"My parents died in a car wreck." I said, quickly adding, "Don't say you're sorry, I've already heard that."

"Well, I bet they were really good people," he smiled.

I desperately wanted to change the subject as I responded, "Yeah, they were." This is definitely one thing I don't want to have to think about right now.

"So what about you? I hear you're adopted."

His smile became slightly forced.

"Yeah, my parents died when I was younger." Something in Edwards tone gave me the feeling that was all he was willing to tell me.

I was right, he turned the subject back to me.

"Tell me about your family back in Texas." he asked as the bell went. The expression 'saved by the bell' has never seemed so true until now.

"I got to go," I said, grabbing my bag and books, "I promised my family I'll meet them after lunch."

Yes, the last part was a lie, but I really needed to get out of here. Being around 'normal' people is somehow playing with my quick excuses. I walked out of the library at a steady pace, scanning the crowd for my cousins. With the library being by the cafeteria it should've been easy to find them quickly, but no luck.

Maybe they're already near the classroom, I thought when I felt a sudden hand on my shoulder. I turned quickly, their hand dropping to their side. It was a lady that seemed to be in her middle ages with a small white paper in one hand. Her face was scrunched up like she just smelt something bad.

"Are you Isabella Harris?" She asked.

My answer was a timid, "Yes…"

"Come with me; you have an early dismissal." She turned around and walked away with me not far behind.

When we reached the office, I found my cousins by the door along with my "Aunt' and 'Uncle'. They signed some paper before leaving.

As we walked towards our cars, Mark decided to ask what this was all about.

"There was another kidnapping down at La Push," the female said, "This time whatever did it didn't wait to rip them apart."

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><p><strong>I JUST WANNA GIVE A QUICK THANKS TO DANNI BLACK for beta(ing) this chapter! Sadly they might not be able continueing to be my beta :C<strong>

**On a other note: REVIEW!**

**Quick intro and..outro...**


	9. Shouldve trusted my  instincts

**Hey guuuys! i kow its been over a month since ive updated buut school has been really busy and ive been slackin off on all of my work, this story included. I know its short and i hate myself for it but at least i now know th plot AAANNND i know what to write for the next chapter!**

**PS; my friend read Chapter seven aand told me that i should add more details soo i did. it was medium big but important. please read.**

**Disclaimer: i dont own twilight, just the characters that i made up :D**

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><p>Chapter eight<p>

The Forks police department were there before we were and they weren't letting anyone outside the police cross the yellow tape. Of course, the adults knew that was going to happen; (who would let random people compromise evidence) they came ready in their suits. Like in any other case, they brought in fake I.D 's with the name they are known as around here, except for being in the FBI, the adults are claiming to be with the new workers of Forks the situation, not many people were around to get a peek at the tragedy that happened.

I saw the paramedics Wheeling a black body bag into the back of the ambulance car and a blonde with messy make up running down her face talking to some guy in a big jacket with ' FORKS POLICE' written on the back.

"Guys," I called, grimacing as I pointed at a certain area of the tress that held a tragic amount of blood. It wasn't splattered, but that didn't make it anymore bearable to look others eyes followed my finger and squinted as they spotted the blood.

"There's a set of claw marks on the tree trunk," Mark informed us," I cant really determine how many claws it has exactly from this distance. It's blurry."

"Since we can't cross, should we tell the adults to get a closer look?" Mary asked.

Erik shook his head. "Nah Man, they're going to do that any ways. Why did they bring us? We can't do anything right now, it's way to early for us to get involved."He had a point, we're practically useless right now, at least until the tape goes down. It'll raise suspicions if we start going around asking weird question now.

"Hey," Anna whispered un easily, "Those guys from last time are staring at us again."I took a peek at where she was looking and there they were. Once again, they were shirtless, leaving me to wonder if they even owned any shirts or if that was just the style in La Push reservation.

"Damn," Mary smiled, " Those abs! Those are some good looking guys."I saw one of them smirk and laugh as she talked, earning them a smack up side the head. I wondered if they could have heard us. We were so far from them, it's nearly impossible. Then again, most things poeple think arent impossible, are.

"Mary, feel free to keep your saliva in your mouth." Anna teased.

"Guys, can we focus please," I stressed. The more those "Too sexy for my shirt" guys stared, the more edgy I got.

"Okay, okay! Don't get your panties in a twist."

I looked over at the group of guys, holding back a glare as I did so.

"What? You can go back to Edward Cullen already?" Erik teased. I looked at Erik confused. what the he'll was he talking about?He laughed, "We actually did notice you weren't there for lunch, Bella. Anna went to look for you at the library and saw you with him."

I finally understood, "oh, well...okay..." I didn't know what else to say, he said it like it was a big deal. I guess I can see why, it was a Cullen, even I thought it was big at first.

"Okay?" his eyes widened in disbelief, "that's all you have to say, 'okay'?"

I shrugged, looking around to find the adults. They were talking to the blond girl.

"Don't take this the wrong way but why would he talk to you? He never took interest in you the first week, why now?"

"Maybe he took a good look at me and realized I'm the most amazing girl in the world!" I joked then put on my best Edward voice, " 'Oh Bella, you are so gorgeous and magnificent! We are perfect for each other! it's like a lion falling in love with a horse!"My imitation of him was horrible and the others knew it. Cullens voice was just so hard to for a girl to mimic.

Mary gave me a strange look, "Okay, one...even though I've never actually heard him talk, I'm pretty sure he doesn't sound like that. Two, you sounded incredibly conceited, and three...'Horse', Bella? really?"

"what?" I shrugged," it's the first thing that popped into my head! A lion can fall in love with a horse. Its possible!" My defense statement still didnt change Mary's 'your wierd' look.

"Wait," Mark demanded, "why are we having this conversation?"

Erik patted his back, saying, "Because Bella is just too darn impatient."

I took that as a very offensive statement; I wasnt that impatient.

"Lets just get back to the important subject...the dead person that just got attacked and ripped apart probably by a dangerous creature that we have yet to know exactly what it is and can probably die ourselves at any given moment in this two week period."

It's hard to believe that Mark said that all in one breath without missing a beat. Yes, that little conversation changer was really optimistic. It's like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel already.

"Would the adults just hurry up already?"

Anna put a calming hand on my shoulder. "Chill, Bella. You know this takes time."

"Yeah, cause we have a lot of that." I continued to wait for the adults to finish, which took about 30 more minutes. My feet started hurting from standing after about ten so that made me even more grouchy. Needless to say, I was happy when we got to leave.

"What were you able to get?" Mark asked as we drove to the house.

"Nothing," the male huffed, "The girl didn't see anything. One minute her friend was there, the next she was there in pieces."

"You did at least get a name of, right?"

"Of course." He growled. He was unhappy with the doubt that laced Marks question. "Bree Tanner."

"The name of the kidnapped?"

"No, the name of the pet fish in 'Full House'. Yes, the kidnapped!"

"I didn't know the Tanners had a pet fish." Mary chimed, curiosity painted her face.

The Female sighed before saying, "They didn't."

Mary's curiosity was replaced with confusion." Then why did he-?"

"Yes they did!" Erik interrupted, "Remember, Michelle drowned it with soap or something."

"Oh yeah-"

"Enough!" the male sneered, looking at us from the review mirror. "We have a job on our hands and you are not going to waste my time talking about some silly TV show."

The car got silent quickly before they went back to the original conversation. Of course, it was a little bit more timid, but that's to be expected when the man yells. Its pretty scary.

"So…Bree Tanner?" Erik said as we pulled into the drive, "A description wont matter since she's already, you know, dead."

No one really called him out how insensitive that sounded, surely he's smart enough to know that all by himself. We went to the living room, knowing the adults wouldn't let us just go to the room and 'chill' under these circumstances.

"great," the male murmured, stress was clear on his face, "we're looking for two vampire girls who we don't even know they are, and now we have another case at the same time with no hits."

"Actually," Mary spoke, "we think we actually got something on the vampire case last week."This didn't seem to make him feel better, on the contrary. He seemed to be angry now.

"And when were you planning on telling me?"He shrunk into the couch at the tone of his voice. Erik, of course, tried to act as though it didn't faze him.

"Why did you wait a week to tell me?" he said each word slowly. It only made answering him even more frightening.

"We forgot, sir. We did tell the female, though." I defended, not liking the way he was talking to Mary. She hardly did anything.

His angry eyes shifted to the uncaring female them back at us before controlling his voice and asking,"What did you find?"

"we think that there's more than two in the town." Mark started.

"A bigger coven?"

Mark nodded before continuing, "About four-"

"Possibly six" I interrupted. The others looked at me confused. I sighed. "Remember what Jessica said? They were adopted by Mr. And Mrs. Cullen. Maybe there human, I don't know, but if there not well..."I trailed off, unsure of how to finish.

"Wait," the male laughed as though I just announced the worlds hilarious joke ,"You mean to say they go to school? With other humans?"

"According to what the others say, they keep a low profile. Not talking to anyone outside there 'family' as they put it."

"Until Isabella Carter came to town." Erik tried saying in a somewhat country voice. It didn't really work for him. I rolled my eyes at his immaturity, secretly wanting to tell him to shut up, the male was mad enough as it is.

"What is he talking about?" The male's glare was intense, like two red hot irons burning into my face.

That man, I swear, if I wasn't so scared of him (and was able to control my 'gift',) I would be an annoying pain in his butt. I say this like I'm not already. I tried to wave it off but Erik just felt like- I don't know what he felt like but he wanted to talk about this for some reason.

"One of the them decided to brake the rumors and have a chat with Bella." .Despite Erik's light laugh towards the end, the matter didn't seem funny to the male. He narrowed his eyes at me even more than before telling me to keep an eye on the vampire. I gave a quick nod, not wanting to anger him further.

"Could it be possible that the two other vampires are apart of that coven too?" the female asked, her question was directed to the male.

The male shook his head,"I highly doubt it. it's rare when they're in big numbers. The simple fact that there's six already is a surprise."

"So we have a coven of four- possibly six-," Erik stated," AND we have two OTHER Bloodsuckers running around this town. Not to mention the other case in La Push. What's up with this town and the supernatural? Its like a bad case of herpes!"

Anna looked at him strangely asking, "How, exactly, is this like herpes?"

"It just is," he shrugged, his voice confident. "don't question me."

"what about the fire situation?" Mary reminded as she walked into the kitchen to get a file from the stack, "We still don't know how to use it."

"it's got to be some magical way to do it," Erik thought. His face was in full thinking mode; with eyebrows pushed together in concentration. That stare can pop a balloon! "Like-Like setting up into a weird position. Lighting it up at a certain moment-"Erik's imaginative suggestions were interrupted by Anna's laugh.

"Or maybe your over thinking this." she smiled, "its fire. There's only one thing you can do with fire; burn. We just- Oh, I don't know- burn the freaking vamp to a crisp?"Now It was Erik's turn to laugh,

"Please, it can't be that simple. Just walked up to them with a lighter and BAM! vampire toast. No.I dont think so."

"I'm just saying," Anna shrugged, "sometimes the so called 'hard' questions have a simple answer that you've known all along."Erik did that stupid 'mimic what they said with a girly voice' thing. Anna's eyes narrowed, not exactly happy with the poor imitation. She claimed her voice was nothing like what Erik sounded. It led to both of them bickering with each other for a minute before the male got annoyed and stopped that foolery. Men and they're short temper.

Either way, I agreed with Anna. I mean, with some other creatures, the way to killing them is with a simple cut-off-the-head or burn there remains. Why not it be the same with vampires? Then i thought came to mind.

Maybe if, by some weird miracle Edward Cullen trusts me enough, he'll be able to tell me all I need to know. I smiled to myself, I feel so smart. But then, like in the past, that feeling didn't last long before a 'but' came to , what if he didn't end up trusting me. He seems like the kind of guy that wouldn't tell some girl his deep, dark secret, I know I wouldn't. The more I think of it, the more unlikely it seemed to be.

Another doubt popped up, in the form of a beautiful blond; Rosalie Hale. She seems to really hate my 'family' and I. I'm thinking it would take some real effort to convince her to allow someone to tell us anything. But I at least have to try.

"If it was really that simple then Mr. Six would of told us," he said in a 'duh' voice, breaking me out of my thoughts, "God ,your so stupid."

"Okay! I say we go practice our abilities like the cool people we are! Yes? Yes! Let's go!" Mary skipped her way through the room and towards the door that led to the backyard.

I was a little reluctant to go out and practice, I remember the little incident that happened last time. Still, I tried not to let it faze me, mostly because I knew I had to get a hold on the pain and plus I needed to find myself a little guinea pig to test on.

Anna insisted on coming with me, her face held a hint of concern. I happily agreed, trying to hide how relived I was not having to go alone.

The forest ground was soggy and covered with damp leaves and pretty soon the tips of my shoes were covered with grass clippings. We started searching everywhere, up on trees, behind bushes, behind tress. We came across some animals but by the time we realized they were they, they heard us and run off the other direction as if they knew the reason we were there.

I secretly hoped I would find Thumper, that little white rabbit that I found last time I was here. Even though she -or he- ditched me when the vampire came, I still couldn't help myself but want to find her-or him. She (or he) was just so damn cute.

We searched and we searched in silence for an hour, yet all we got was nothing.

Until we ran into a deer few yards in front of us.

Anna looked at me and it was easy to see that she was more excited about it than I was. Poor little, white spotted deer was lonely, just roaming around like it had all the time in the world. She bent her head down to eat a piece of grass; Anna saw this as her chance. She tip-toed her way over, making sure each step wasn't going to scare the doe away. I mentally sighed, knowing fully well we weren't going to catch this one either, like the last ten. Anna didn't notice that I stayed back this time, I stayed quiet.

It took her a while, but Anna was finally close to the deer. My hopes rose up, maybe we might get a new training buddy for me. A smile tugged at lips with excitement as Anna got closer. Sadly, it all went away when she stepped on a twig and the deer when off running. Her and I went chasing after it, but it was too fast.

Anna became frustrated, "How exactly are we supposed to catch an animal in the woods? I mean, yeah, we have these weird stuff that we do, but c'mon, they run freak'n fast! And I have the energy of a 60 year old woman."

I shrugged, too tired to say anything. We decided to call it a day and started our way back to the house which was hard since we weren't following any specific trail. All the trees looked the same that we kept walking in circles.

"Anna," I whined, "are you sure you know where we're going?" My feet were starting to hurt from all the walking this entire day and my palms were sweating under my gloves.

"Yeah," she said though her voice sounded unsure, "There's that thing we saw last time, and that leaf…you know what forget it." She crammed her hand into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Her face fell when she saw the screen. "Shiz. No signal."

"Great," I muttered, "How are we supposed to get out of here now?"

We looked at our surroundings, hoping for a hint or clue to our way out, but we hardly know how to navigate our way through the woods. I started to wish we wouldn't have gone too far away.

"Did you see that?" Anna whispered. Her worried eyes were set on something, but I couldn't tell what.

" See what?"

She looked at me confused, "I could've sworn I saw someone-never mind, it was probably nothing."

Despite her attempt to wave it off, I started to get a little concerned. _I'll be back hunter_… Those words kept ringing in my head, playing like a broken record. I mentally kicked myself for forgetting, for thinking the possibility of coming across the vampire again was low.

Just like last time, there was a blur that passed beside us. Anna's head turned quickly as she searched for whatever was here.

I started taking my gloves off, getting ready if it was the monster from last time.

"Anna, I think we need to find our way back. Now." My voice was shaky. I hate it when I get even a little frightened, it makes me feel weak.

We went off at a random direction and hoped to god that it was the right way back or at least close to it. Most of my concentration were on my feet; I was bound to trip at one point and with my luck, it would most likely be at the worst time .

There was a swooshing sound over head, a shadow going jumping from tree to tree. The moment I stopped focusing on my feet to look up, I tripped. My foot got stuck on a vine-like think, and now I was face first on a pile of leaves. Anna was ahead of me before she looked back and realized I was on the ground. She ran back to help me up but when I got on my feet, there was a sharp pain on my ankle. I gasped from the sting.

"Did you break it?" Anna asked in a rush. She pulled my arm around her shoulder, careful not to touch my exposed hand.

"I don't think so. C'mon, we need to keep going."

She half carried me as we continued to run. We still didn't know whether it was the same vampire from last time or something else though I didn't want to stay and find out.

It seemed the shadow had no problem keeping up with us, it was always right on track with us. That only made me worry more. Why had it not attacked us yet? Why was it taking its time?

I tried to ignore the pain every time I had to take a step with my right ankle but eventually we had to stop to get some air.

"How are you holding up?" Ana panted. I could tell that carrying her weight and mine was really hard for her. She had the energy of a 60 year old woman, as she mentioned earlier.

Before I could answer _her_, I got my own questioned answered on who was the one chasing us. I knew I should've stayed home.

He was being blocked by the shadow of a tree but I could see that his crimson red eyes held amusement. Seeing me in pain must be the funniest thing in the world to him.

"Anna, he's over there." I said, jerking my head towards his direction

She turned to see what I was talking about, murmuring an 'Oh shiz' when she saw the vampire. Anna leaned me against a tree before taking a straightening her back, something she would do every time there was a threat.

He stepped out of the shadow, chuckling. "I told you I would be back, hunter. I'm still mad at that little stunt you pulled on me last time."

My eyes narrowed at his comment. "Don't touch me, and you wont feel it. That simple."

"That's going to be hard," He pouted, "I'm really thirsty. And those other humans never full my appetite. I was looking forward to bumping into you again. Now I have you _and_ your friend. " His chest rose when he took a deep breath, "Delicious."

All of a sudden he was gone.

And so was Anna.

* * *

><p><strong>Again, short i know.-_- review yah dah yah dah yah dah. Messege me thoughts of what you think will happen next, who knows, maybe youll inspire me into putting one of your inferences (big words, highly doubt i used it right) into the next chapter, or the story. Peace Amigos!<strong>

**~AmericasAngel**


	10. A meeting in the forest

CHAPTER 9

The sky was darkening and I was left alone in the woods with no way of navigating my way out. As every second passed my panic grew. Anna was no where in sight and neither was the vampire. And my sprained ankle just made everything worse. I tried to calm myself down, thinking that Anna could fend for herself, but then a problem popped into my head. Vampires are stronger and clearly faster than us. She hardly had a chance at surviving.

"Anna!" I called, half hoping she'd answer, half knowing she wouldn't. "Anna!"

As I suspected, there was no reply. I looked around, debating whether I should turn back and look for the others so they can help. No, I decided. That would take too much time, who knows what he could do with her by then. Despite the pain, I walked toward the direction I hoped was the way the vampire went. I rolled up my sleeves and took off my shoes. Exposing as much skin as appropriately possible was the best chance I had of surviving.

I limped through piles of leaves and twigs in search of my friend, but there wasn't any sign of where he could've taken her. To make matters worse, it seems I've gotten myself even more lost. I let out a frustrated sigh, , I need to get Anna back safe. Suddenly I heard a twig break.

Before I could even process that the vampire was back, I was thrown into a tree. Again. The fact that I keep getting my butt kicked by the same thing kept pissing me off. This hardly ever happened and I wasn't taking it lightly.

"I hear your looking for me.", I heard his dark voice say, "For a hunter, your really not that good at…hunting."

My back couldn't take being thrown to trees anymore. I slowly lifted my body off the grown, too weak to actually get up on my feet. The feeling of panic came back as I was met with two pairs of crimson eyes, and no Anna. He took my friend, and brought another.

"Who is she? What did you do with Anna?" My eyes took in the woman next to him. She was glaring at me. Her hair was messy and fiery red ,her clothes were pretty tattered up and her feet were bare. If all of that is ignored, she's beautiful, like all other vampires I presume.

It doesn't matter how attractive they look, though. He took Anna, and the other was with him for sure.

The guy continued talking as if I hadn't said a thing, "Then again, hunters never were good with fighting off our kind. They always end up dead. Sooner or later."

I froze. He wasn't just talking about all hunters in general-he was talking about Anna, too.

"Just tell me where is Anna, you sick, sad use of space." My voice suddenly became more forceful. It seem to have no effect on him, on either of them. He shook his head , laughing. Unconsciously, I scooted closer to the moss-covered tree when he crouched down to eye level with me.

"Pretty _and_ feisty," he chucked as he examined my face.

His friend's glare became more intense after the some-what compliment. "James, can we hurry and get done with her already? I'm thirsty."

I tried to appear unfazed by her statement. If they do touch me, it'll sting them and hopefully I can some how, increase the pain on them.

The guy- James, apparently- turned to her and said, "Patience, Victoria, Patience," before turning back to me. His eyes suddenly became interested, on what I don't know. "Tell me, what is your ability? Its to cause pain, I assume?"

I stayed silent. He obviously knew the answer, it pretty simple to guess.

"I'll take that as a yes." he chuckled, "What about your friend? What can she do? I believe she tried using it on me. Things began to appear strange. It has to do with the sight, yes?"

Again, I did nothing but just glare at him. It angered me how he talked to me like we were the best of friends. He wasn't answering my question, I'm not going to answer his.

"Speak, you little brat." _Victoria _sneered. Clearly, she wanted nothing more than to throw me against the tree again.

"Or what? You'll bite me?" I smiled, daring her to touch me. I don't know where the sudden burst of confidence came from, but at this point I wanted to see how my abilities worked. It would be nice to test it out on people- or monsters- that deserve it and not on an innocent person or animal. No guilt.

Victory gave me this look, this pissed off vamp look. Lesson number one on vampires: they get mad easily.

In less than a second she was in front of me, hissing. "Don't. Tempt. Me."

James put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, dear."

Dear? He just called her dear. That was weird in so many vampire levels. I didn't know vampires…liked each other.

My curiosity got the best of me. "So you two," I said, looking between them, "Are, like, a _thing_?"

They looked at each other like out of all the things I could've said, they did not expect that. Victoria nodded with a mix of pride and confusion.

"So you guys are partners in crime. That's sort of sick. Now, where's Anna for about the gazillionth time." Now that we've chatted I really hoped they'd tell me where they left Anna. Idiotic, yes, but it was worth the try.

James stared at me before smiling. "Nice try, hunter. We're not giving her up that easily."

I raised an eyebrow, a little ticked. "And why the hell not? She didn't do anything. Aren't I the one you've taken a liking to?"

Victoria hissed but James ignored her. "Not just you. Your whole team or whatever you've chosen to call yourselves. Immortality has been pretty dull- only a couple fights here and there with others. You coming across out paths added some excitement."

Before I could act all flattered I remembered something that has been bothering since the first time our 'paths crossed'. "How did you know I was a hunter?"

"Your blood reeks of them."

Victoria was getting more and more impatient the longer me and her…boyfriend-or whatever she calls him- talked. "Speaking of blood. My thirst is beginning to be more intense."

I let out a frustrated sigh" How many times do I have to ask ? Where is Anna?"

"She's unconscious somewhere around. Don't worry, we dumped her on a nice pile of leaves so she wont be too uncomfortable. Then again," She laughed, "She sleeps on the floor at your house, so she should be used to is by now."

I tensed at her words. She knew where we're staying at? I thought he just clued her in today. How could they know where our safe haven is at? Then it dawned on me, the simple answer. My scent. Which made me wonder what else have I led them to.

"What more do you have on us?" I asked, voicing my thoughts.

James shrugged, "Enough."

It made me feel uneasy having something we're hunting know more about us than we do them. I was more alert then ever. The others would love to here this- that is if I can find Anna and get ourselves out of here.

Still on the ground, I had a feeling I looked as vulnerable as I felt. My back wasn't in as much pain as it was when I was first thrown ; so I decided this was as good a time as ever to scramble to my feet.

He wasn't having any of that. The moment he saw what I was trying to do, his hands were at my throat, just like last time.

"You may be a hunter, but your still human. "he sneered, "Which makes you just as easy to kill as anything else."

My air supply was quickly running out, given the fact that he didn't give me enough notice to grab some extra air. And here I thought we were getting along so well.

Instinctively,, my hands reached to take his cold fingers from around my neck, but his strength was too much.

I didn't understand why he wasn't feeling even the slightest pain like he did last time. Was my power really this weak against vampires? My eyes set on his hands with such intensity-such focus- that it felt like they could burn through them. But Nothing continued to happen and I grew angrier and dizzier by the second. _Work_, I begged myself, _c'mon work! Pain! Think pain_!

I tried to remember how I had managed to put enough pain in him to make him let me go. It seemed that I didn't have enough time to process every movement, every thought though. My body was giving out for lack of oxygen and I forced myself to think faster. He was positioned just like this, most of the situation was the same as last time, but without the pain. What did I do? I was doing the same thing as last time.

James laughed as if he knew what I was trying to do and tightened his grip on my neck. He would most definitely leave a worse bruise than last time. I chocked and I gasped, but I couldn't seem to get enough oxygen. I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker. Then suddenly, there was a hiss and I could breath again.

I looked up at him, confused as to why he let me go. There was a smirk on his lips as he examined his hand," This is going to be fun." was all he said before he and Victoria disappeared. And I was alone again.

Reluctantly I got up and started walking. Through the trees I could tell that the sky was black and became depressed. In a sad attempt to get Anna back, I somehow managed to make matters worse. This was nothing but a game for the vampire- a game that I have a feeling I must now play if I ever wish to see Anna again.

I mentally sighed. Now I have no other choice but to head back to the house and tell everyone about what just happened. Even the adults. I shuddered. I'm in some deep shizz.

The dark was no help at all in helping me find my way out of the woods. It was bad enough that I was a natural klutz with a sprained ankle, but in the night? Its like some force really wants to make my life miserable- well as _more_ miserable as the life of a supernatural hunter can get.

Though I could somewhat see through the shadows, I mostly had to feel my way around. The ground had many rocks and twigs that pricked at my bare feet. The thought of something wanting to make my life miserable came back when my already sprained foot got tangled in something that felt like a rough vine or tree roots. I tried to shake it off, but it wouldnt move. My ankle stung, practically yelling at me to stop but I continued, instantly regretting it when i lost my balance and fell backwards and hit my head on something hard.

* * *

><p>"Bella? Bella?"I heard a familiar voice say near me.<p>

My eyelids felt heavy, like I hadnt slept for days and I'm barely getting the chance to rest. There was a sharp pain in the back of my head, making me groan.

"Bella?"the voice called again, a little concerned.

My eyes fluttered open and widen in shock as I saw who was kneeling beside me. Edward Cullen in all is glory was right here. In the middle of no where. I shot up upright only to be pulled back down as the pain in my head became more pronounced.

"Ow." I muttered, rubbing the sore spot at the back of my head.

Edward's hand was at my shoulder, holding me down. "Stay still." he ordered, "I think you hit your head pretty hard."

I shook him off when I remembered the past events that led me to be here. The events that involved _h__is_ kind. I tried to calm myself down when I started growing angry at the memory. The ground was wet and mushy under me, damp leaves stuck to my arms. I roughly pulled my sleeves down, not wanting to add more problems to my plate.

"I'm fine." I grumbled as I pulled myself up. I brushed the leaves off my body before turning to look at him. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." He answered back with a seriouse tone.I could faintly see him running his hand through his messy hair through the dark. "What were you thinking coming out here all alone, Bella? Don't you know how dangerouse that could be?"

_Sure, I'm alone_ now_,_ I wanted to tell him, but bit my tongue. "I can fend for myself." I argued, starting to gently massaging my neck when it started to feel sore.

His eyes flashed to my neck then back to me, narrowing. "Obviously. Its not as if I found you lying on the ground unconscious at night." He had a point, but I wasnt going to admit that to him.

"Listen, I just came out here for a little seperation from my family. I got lost and tripped." I lied then pleaded, "Can you just point me in the right direction towards my house? I really must be getting home." My ankle was killing me and all I wanted was to go back and have everyone work on getting Anna back. The longer I stood here talking to Edward, the more time I was wasting.

Edward didnt say a thing, he just stared at me, calculating. I crossed my arms, growing more impatient as he continued to stare at me. After what seemed like forever, he spoke. "Just head down that way," He said pointing beside him, "And _just _that way. Dont head off for another walk in the woods."

Not really caring how he knew where I lived, I gave him a silent 'thanks' and headed off toward where he pointed. Sadly, he stopped me before I even took five steps. I turned to glare at him. He really was wasting my time. I don't care how hot or gorgouse he looks, if whatever he has to tell me isnt important, I swear to god, my hand will be at his arm and he will be withering in pain. But if that doesnt work, I mused, I bet I'll look something like voldermort with my pissed off look.

"Whats wrong with your ankle?" Edwards voice was reluctant, like he almost didnt want to ask.

"I told you I tripped." I growled at him. My tone mustve taken him by surprise. He looked a little hurt but recovered rather quickly. Still, a wave of guilt washed over me. "Sorry, I'm just having a really rough day and all I want is to go home."

His mouth opened then snapped shut, like he was about to say something but thought better of it. "OK, then. I best be on my way also. My family must be wondering where I've headed off to."

We both turned to go our sepreate ways. Me limping slash running, him walking with his back some what hunched over. As I ran, I have come to a realization. Edward was my ket to finding a way of getting Anna back. He and his coven are our assignment to kill, so if I stick to the idea I got back at the house- the one involving me get close to him and getting all the information I need- then I can use those details to kill him and his coven, kill the two other vampires, and get Anna back alive. If she still is.

But for some reason, I didnt want to do that. I didnt want to use Edward even if I had to. In the end I knew I had to suck it up and deal with it. Because he was a vampire. A monster. He had to be killed.

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><p><strong>OOKkkaayy! so I am somewhat Happy with this chapter, even though its like extremely short. Please forgive me. I wanted to put more details into it but i didnt really konw how.<strong>

**Please review! tell what you liked with you didnt like, what i should do to make my writting better. please and thank you :)**

**~AmericasAngel**


	11. The beach

**Hello! its been a while since you have heard from me! and again i apologize, ive never been good with quick updates. But Im glad to say this one is quite long compared to the last one, in my opinion :) And I promise! ON MY DEAD FISH'S GRAVE! that i will work twice as hard to get up faster and better updates! I SWEAR! Im going to make sure my friend estefany helps me out! she seems to know the right things to put in my story.**

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><p>We didnt go to school the next day or the day after that. Infact, we didnt go for the rest of the week. I had a good reason though, I lost my gloves in the woods and my ankle was swollen, even more so since I was walking on it more than one should. Luckly, the adults always have a first aid kit, its part of the job, and wrapped it with some gauze . The others stayed for safety and for the cases.<p>

Poeple rang to check up on us-probably making sure we didnt die- but we ignored their calls. They werent even supposed to have our numbers!Mary liked this whole school thing way too much. Either way,our full focus now was on the cases and Anna, so it didnt really matter if our absence raised some suspicion.

Ever since I got back its been non stop reading and researching about vampires. The adults were more than pissed when I came back alone-some more than others-and my workmates were up and ready to fight whatever took her. Oh, but the adults werent having that at all, no. They sent us to research(obviously) under strict orders to not to do anything rash and or stupid. Although none of us liked the idea of just sitting here and studying, its seems to be the only thing we could do to try and get Anna back. We know that our abilities dont work as well on those immortals than they do on any other monster, so the adults ordered us to find different ways to get to them, but its easier said than done. Even with all the information in the documents, we seem to know next to nothing and it aggrivates us all because of it.

Which brought me to telling the adults about my plan of getting close to Cullen and getting all the knowledge that we desperately need. This caught their attention! Yes,sir, indeed! Yeah, they were a little hesitant at the thought of me going any where near a monster this early, but once I told them of possibly killing two or more birds with one stone, they were completly on board. Hell, the female even gave me a complement. Well, it was more like, "Good job, your not as stupid as I thought.", but I took it as a complement. It made me feel a teeny bit better.

Sadly, telling the others didnt go as well. They seemed to have grown attached to both Anna and I and so they were scared that Cullen might be just like the other vampires. Curse my amazingness and good personality!Erik seemed to be the only one who saw it my way but Mary was now no longer talking to me. She can be a bit melodramatic sometimes.

I told them while we were in our room. The adults have gone back to La push to investigate some more on that other case, leaving us alone in the familiar two story house. Mary and the rest of them were in their usual spot with documents in their hands. I thought this was a better time than never to tell them, thinking that my plan would give them more hope for finding our dear friend.

I silently closed the document, setting it down beside me before getting the others' attention. "You guys, I have an idea that I think might work to finish most of the cases. If not all." It was silent in the room before I spoke and I saw them jump a little at the sudden noise that was my amazing voice. Mary shut her document roughly, eager to hear what Ive come up with. I cleared my throat before continuing. "You know how I'm the only person that Edward Cullen talks to apart from his family? Well, I was thinking, maybe we can use him since he _is _an immortal himself."

My eyes swept through the room, eyeing everyones expressions. A little pang of guilt came when I took notice the emptyness on Anna's bed.

"What exacly do you think we can get out of him?" Erik asked from his bed. He didnt look too happy though I can tell he was trying to stay business. Now, Mary, she wasnt trying to hide it at all.

"Extra information." I answered simply, trying my best to look at anything but the angry Mary. "The documents Mr. Six gave us dont help enough. Maybe I can earn Cullen's trust and he would tell me the missing pieces that we need."

"No." Mary's calm tone made that simple word scary as hell. I was about to protest but she shut me up immedietly with one hard core glare. "One friend is already in danger. Im not going to let another one go."

"We put ourselves in danger all the time!" Erik argued, "All the cases we do involve doing just that! Whats the difference between the other cases and this one?Sorry to break it to you, sweety, but it comes with the job."

"I wasnt aware that I was talking to you, Erik." Mary's hands curled into a fist, glowing red from the heat brought up from her anger.

I looked over to Mark, pleading him to help me out here, but he was just as upset as Mary. Okay maybe not _as_ upset, but just _really_ upset. His head was between his hands and I immedietly felt bad again.

Still, I pushed myself up from the floor and walked towards the door, only turning around to say, "Doesnt matter if you dont like the idea, Mary. The adults are all up for it." After that was said, I went straight to the kitchen to get myself a nice, cool, drink of something sweet and healthy. Okay, soda. But it was a well deserved soda.

That's why she's not really talking to me. I've tried my best to get her to say something to me but its not working. All she does is either nod her head as a 'yes' or shake it as a 'no'. Maybe I should stop asking 'yes or no' questions. Mark was taking acting a whole lot better then her, I mean, at least he's talking to me. He told me that even though he fears that the Cullens might over power me somehow, he knew that Erik and I were right. That certainly cheered me up a little.

Anywho, back to the time that is Now. Its Saturday and the adults have decided to go down to La Push again, this time with us. Apperantly five days between the crime and now is enough time for us to steer clear. Now, we must act like some very curiouse and horomonal teenagers, which shouldnt be too hard...for Erik.

"I'll take the girls." Erik declared with a wink. He was seating across the little mine-pathway beside me, his back to the door and his legs were positioned so that they were blocking the way through. He was even more cockier than usual now that he took out his special lighter, the same one he used the first day we were here to practice

I, of course, paid little attention to his remark. Instead, I prefered just sitting in the car, fiddling with a yellow frisbee as I watched the green, mold covered trees zoom us by. They, too, were familiar like the house, but it wasnt for the same reason. For starters, I _knew_ why they were familiar. It was the same road Mike and I took for our date. I shuddered at the word. Date. Yeah, I shouldnt have thought that my first date would be with someone I liked and not case related. How naive of me to assume other wise. Well, you know what poeple say about assuming. It makes an Ass out of U and Me. On the bright side, thats a great reminder on how to spell it.

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts when the car made to an adrupt stop, making all of us lunge towards in our seat. I huffed as the seat belt roughly tightened and pushed me back, practically knocking the wind out of me.

"Whats going on?" I heard Mar'sk alarmed voice ask from the backseat. I looked over to the front where the adults were and saw that their faces were the ones of pure annoyance and after looking through the windshield, I could see why.

"Damn rabbits." The male muttered as he waited for the bunny , who was jumping incredebly slow, to get out of the way.

I continued to stare, baffeled at the animal, for it wasnt just any other rabbit! It was the same one that wouldnt run away from me that first time I went to the woods to find an animal. It was Thumper! It looked just like her! Or him! (doesnt matter). I was so elated that I was literally bouncing in my seat.

"Its taking too long," Erik complained, twisting impatiently beside me. "Just run over it! I bet there are a whole lot of bunnies out here! No one will notice one is dead."

"No!" I yelled as I tried my best resisting the urge to reach over and slap the kid across the face. "Dont you dare touch Thumper. Boy, dont make me take my gloves off!" That feeling I had toward the animal came rushing back like a tidal wave. I just cant bare the thought of something that cute being run over by a careless man and left to die. Thats just inhuman.

Erik, clearly surprised by my sudden outburst, raised his hands as a sign of surender. "Okay, okay! Chill! The bunny will live, his life will be sparred."

Happy with the fact, I reached for the black doorhandle but froze mid way. It wouldnt go over too well with the adults if I just got out of the car to get a random pet. So as a precaution, I turned to the adults-well more to the female, she's becoming nicer- with my eyes pleading and begged," May I please get the rabbit and bring it with me?"

The male twisted his head so that he got a good look at me, and surprise, surprise! His face didnt hold a hint of happiness. Yeah, so, thats a...

"No."

I knew I couldnt argue with him without getting a shot of SuperMan's Kryptonite, so I kept my mouth shut. Thumper obviously doesnt know danger if she\he gets run over by it. First she didnt runaway after I warned that Im going to have to hurt her\him, and now, she coincidently decided to stop trying to get out of the way and stop in the middle of the rode. She might literally get run over by danger.

The male, with his short temper and patience, stepped on the gas. Keep your mouth shut, keep you mouth shut, I chanted in my head as the car got closer and closer to Thumper until, finally I couldnt see her anymore. I waited for the sound or bump that indicated my sweet little white fur Thumper getting hit, but...

Nothing.

As we continued driving I looked behind me, through the back, dust covered window of the car, and saw her (or him), still alive in all her amazingness.

"Geez,since when do you have a soft spot for animals?"Erik started messing around with his silver lighter, flickering the thing on and on. Ignoring him, I went back to staring out the window. I wonder if those shirtless guys would be there again; that would defenetly make Mary happy- more than happy actually. A great change from the past couple of days.

Someone pinched my shoulder. I yelped and turned to look behind me. It was only Mark.

He was nudging his head toward Mary, who was looking out the window like me, only she glaring at something. Through her dark skin and white T-shirt, it was clear that she's become pale, and those bags under her eyes proved that she hasnt gotten enough sleep. Her appearence reminded me of the time when I made the horrible mistake of using her as a training buddy for my abilities. Yet, it only _reminded_ me of it, she looked a whole lot better than then, thank God.

Cautiously, I turned so that I was in the same position like Erik, which didnt really work since his legs were in the way. My horrible attempt to shove them to a different spot ended in a war between both of our legs. If one were to see through the window as we passed by, we wouldve looked like normal siblings. He shoved me, I shoved back; he kicked me and I kicked back. In the end we both got tired, and I had to settle with trying to talk to Mary with a craned neck. Great, more work for me.

"So..." I started, unsure of how to begin a conversation. I was never good with small talk. "Are you glad that youll get to see those guys again, Mary?" Oh geez, another 'yes or no' question.

She sighed, not even bothering turning to look at me. Mark gave me a look that said "Keep trying" when I stayed silent. Only, I didnt know how to keep trying, Ive _been _trying since the beginning of the week and she's become more stubborn.

Mark looked between Mary and I, looking for a way to help. He didnt get to do much before the car stopped again, this time in our actual destination.

It looked the same, obviously, but it had alot more poeple. Teenagers to be spacific. Funny , you'd think that the word would spread on the disapearances and poeple would _stop_ coming here, but no, theres more poeple than ever.I silently hoped that we wouldnt bump into anyone from school.

We stepped out of the car into the chilly weather and gathered beside it while the adults stood in the empty stop infront of us.

The female had on her fake I-love-each-and-everyone-of-you face. "Alright kids,go on take the frisbee and have fun. Call us if you need us." She said the that like any normal parent, or aunt, no one would think twice about what she said, but we knew otherwise. 'Go one, have fun' as she put it, actually meant to be nosy, to investigate and 'Call us if you need us' could only mean only one thing.

With a single shoo-ing motion with her hands, we were off in full hunter mode...almost. Questions started building in my head. '_Does anyone have an idea of what the animal was?', 'Has these unusual disappreances happened before?, _and one question that is important to get enough information to answer,_'is there any connection between any of the victims?'_

Despite all these questions, none of us had any idea what of where to begin. this is the first case we've done where it mixes with another. Because of the vampire case, we are forced to mingle with other poeple and _not_ in the I'm-the-cop-so-answer-to-whatever-I- say way. Do we start with the adults? With the teens? With the old poeple?

Mark was first to suggest a reasonable way to start. "We're supposed to act like normal teens. Lets just walk around, mess around, and then be curious annoying poeple."

Erik obviously agreed, taking complete advantage of this suggestion. "Race you guys to the water!" He sprinted off, kicking sand up with every step he took. Mary laughed before racing after Erik, pushing her legs as fast as she could to beat him- which wasnt much considering how weak she looked. I stared at her back as she went farther and farther away from Mark and I. I'm starting to consider the possibilty that she might be bipolar. I mean, she was upset in the car and upset while the adult was giving her fake I-love-you's, but now, she seems okay. Emotionally that is.

I gave Mark the 'Are you kidding me?' look, but he just shrugged his broad shoulders before trailing off toward the other two. Of course, I stayed behind.

The sand wasnt kind to my ankle, if anything, walking on the sand made it hurt a teeny bit. I found myself limping alittle. A cold wind blew towards me, and immedietly I was happy for my always-wear-long-sleeves policy.

"Bella!" Erik's voice echoed from far away, "You lost!"

That Erik Harris, he could be such a kid.

I took a quick look around, seeing if I could get any clues that I could see, but seeing things was Marks ability not mine, so I came up short. The only thing I noticed was the yellow tape still wrapped around the same spot from last time.

A scream pulled me away from investigating as I became alert for any sign of danger. Looking toward the direction the scream came from, I quickly calmed down.

Erik was chasing Mary around with a worm he must've found in the sand. She was trying her best to get as far away from it as possible but she quickly got tired. All the laughing and screaming was probably taking away most of the useful air she had. She hunched over, gasping for air as she tried to fight Erik off with a wave of a hand.

Mark did nothing to stop the two. He stood there, smiling like a father watching his little kids having fun.

It was strange to see this, how quickly we're becoming more and more like...like normal teenagers and less like hunters. This new environment must have something to do with it. I mean, I could no longer come up with good excuses, good lies, as fast as I used to. Mary now cares more than before we came here of our safety. Erik and I hardly fight. Anna's disappearance took a harder toll on us than what it would have before arriving here. And more things I'm too tired to list.

Truth is I don't know how I should feel about all these changes. Should I be glad? Glad that we're getting the closest thing to friends? Glad that we now have some sort of connection toward each other? Or should I be worried? Worried that this might somehow damage the investigation, cloud our judgment on things?

"Bella! Get over here and join the fun!" Erik's voice rang.

Mary didn't look too pleased once I started walking towards them. Maybe I should rethink this whole Edward thing. It's hardly worth losing my friend. I mean, odds are he might tell me nothing. It's a pretty big secret to tell. Then again, there's a teeny tiny chance that he might give me what I need, Anna's life is worth it after all and one mad friend is hardly anything if you compare.

I mentally sighed. Yep, becoming close to these people might be a bad thing. I'm starting deciding things out of...friendship.

Mark noticed the grimace on my face. "Why so glum?" he asked even though he already somewhat knew the answer. I tugged at my sleeves as I tried to not shy away when he put a comforting arm around my shoulders. "Go talk to Mary about this. It's better than asking her random questions that she won't answer."

The grimace stayed on my face. I was never one that confronted stuff like this. Granted, I never had to deal with stuff like this, but still. I knew I wasn't one to confront it. How ironic, hunters not being able to step up to a situation as simple like what normal teenagers go through.

When he saw that I wasn't moving, Mark pushed me toward Mary's direction. At the shove, I planted one foot firmly on the ground, refusing to be the one to apologize first. Hopefully, I have enough strength on one foot to help me keep my stance.

"C'mon, Bella…" He grunted against my weight, barely struggling to get me to move, "You can't just leave things like this. She's just as upset as you are. Think of how much better it would be to fix this already. Won't you feel good?"

I felt like I was getting therapy with every word he was saying. "Okay, Okay stop." I surrendered, desperate to shut him up, "I'll go talk to her. But! But I'm not admitting to doing something wrong."

"Anything will do. Just don't say anything to make it worse."

Great. Perfect. Now I put my foot in my mouth sometimes. This is just what I needed to hear right before I went to patch things up with someone. C'mon Bella, be a big girl.

At the sight at me, Mary started going a different direction. Good thing though I was close enough to grab her by the arm.

"We got to talk." I started but she was already turning her back, "Mary, please. You're my friend; I don't want you being mad at me."

She finally stopped and looked at me. "Well what am I supposed to do? You're resorting to talking to Edward. Edward!"

"I know you think it's dangerous, but it's the only thing I can think of I could do that would be any use to us. And you know I have the right to do it." I lowered my voice to a whisper, "I'm a hunter."

"But Edward, Bella?" she continued, "What will the others think?"

"Um, I already told the others. They were there remember?" I looked at her, confused that she forgotten Mark and Erik were in the room with us. She looked at her feet, and suddenly, I knew that it wasn't them she was talking about. "Please tell me you're not worrying about the people at school." Her behavior held all the answers I needed. "Mary, this is so stupid! We're going to leave as soon as we're done here! And they just hang out with you because you're one of the shiny new toys! That, like our staying here, isn't going to last long either."

"Whatever. " Was all she said before turning away.

Moments later, Erik came over to where I stood. "Hey, Mark sent me over here to ask what the hell happened. It looked like you guys were making progress?" He stared pointedly at me. "What did you say? You looked pretty heated. And not in a good way."

"I did nothing!" I defended, "It was her! She is just so…so..." Selfish, self- centered, prone to peer-pressure. " Unbelievable!"

"Whoa!" He said, lifting up his hands, "Dont shoot the messenger! I was simply curious. Lets go, we have to start doing our stuff."

Always the caring one, I see.

We started playing Frisbee, making it look like we were having the time of our lives. Of course, with what just happened, Mary never passed it to me or me to her, but right now, I couldn't bother caring. She made me realize something. We are here for business and that's exactly how it's going to stay. Business.

We saw a group of boys hanging out near the water; they were pretty good to begin with. Mary got a hold of the Frisbee and purposely threw it towards the guys, hitting one on the back. He turned around looking for the source that hit him. I must say, he didn't look too happy when he found the disk.

Mary faked a giggle as we walked towards him and his friends, who, by the way, still haven't noticed their friend being hit. His pissed off look softened when he saw her, his lips forming a perfect smile.

"I'm so sorry," Mary laughed, taking the Frisbee from his hands and tossing it roughly to me, "I didn't mean to hit you. I was never a good thrower."

The guy's friends turned barley realizing what happened.

"It's fine," he said, "No blood, no foul right? My name's Cameron." He extended his hand for a handshake to which Mary eagerly took. "And these are my friends."

Cameron meaning shrimp in Spanish; that's strange. Who names their kid after a delicious sea food? Or am I thinking out _camaron_? Either way, he did not, under any circumstances or weird lighting, look like a shrimp. He was not puny nor red and white, quite opposite actually. Cameron was very muscly and despite the cold weather, he wore a gray t-shirt that makes those muscles stand out even more. Not that I was looking or anything, they're just like right there in my eye range. His hair came down sideways, long enough to cover one of his blue eyes.

Yeah, he could be considered cute in some way, but not in _my_ way.

"I'm Mary," I heard her say, "And this is my family, Mark, Erik and my cousin... Isabella." I tried to hide that third grimace as she introduced me by my full, horrible name. She knew fully well how I felt about that; she just couldn't help herself could she?

Cameron flipped his hair away from his eyes as he looked at us, giving us a wave while doing so. His attention to us was short enough that he didn't see me wave back before he turned towards Mary again.

That gesture reminded me of Jessica Stanley.

"Nice to meet you, Mary," his smile seemed eerie under the cloudy sky and I suddenly did not want Mary anywhere near him, "Would you and your family, like to hang out with us?"

She nodded her head, this time not faking her eagerness. Despite the nagging feeling I had towards the guy, it was a relief that already we had someone to interrogate. That means that we might get to leave sooner and now I wanted nothing more than to go 'home' and practice my ability.

We 'hanged out' with Cameron's friends. To say it was awkward would be putting it lightly. They seemed so quiet, completely different than what Mary's new friend seems to be like. Mark was trying to make conversation with them, but a scrawny one would answer most of the time. It was irritating.

Mary and Cameron were oblivious to the fact that neither group were talking even though we were right in front of them. They were in their little world, one that I wanted Mary out of fast.

Tugging at my sleeves, I tried to drone out the sound of her giggles as she talked-or flirted- with Cameron. The possibility of her getting the answers we needed seemed to be less likely the more I saw how she acted. This town is messing with our hunter mojo! We used to be in and out of places quick and easy, like squashing a cockroach and flushing it down the toilet. Now, this cockroach is playing speedy Gonzalez and is really hard to stomp with my shoe.

"What happened to your ankle?" The scrawny one eyed my injury.

I shrugged, coming up with a half-true answer. "I tripped." Yes, I wanted to say more, to be the one to start a freaking awesome conversation, but there wasn't much to say. And then, we were back to being awkward.

Slowly, I could sense the small steps Mary and him were taking, unconsciously moving away from us. I lightly kicked the sand from underneath me, biting my lip. It's a horrible habit, I know, brought on by nerves, deep thoughts or in this case awkwardness, and will certainly lead to having chapped lips.

"It's weird how many people have been taken…"By that time they were already walking away from us, leaving a line of footprints near the shoreline.

I let out an inaudible sigh. At least Mary's head is still in the game, sort of. Twirling the Frisbee in my hand, I figured we should at least keep up the charade.

"Hey Erik," I smiled, "Go long."

His eyes beamed before running off to the direction I threw the Frisbee. The other guys didnt know what to do, shifting from one foot to the other. These guys have got to lighten up a bit.

Erik threw back the disc to me. I tried to catch it as it flew over my head, but it was too high above me to reach. It went passed me to the feet of another pack of guys. Lovely. Immedietly, my mood changed. The guys were the same ones that would always have an eye on us each time we came here, always shirtless despite the cold weather. Fortunetly, I was happy to see that they werent staring at me or my two cousins,they appeared to be distracted by something else. I followed their glaze, wondering what their distraction was, and a protective feeling swept over.

What was with them? I should've known those guys would be staring-if not at Erik, Mark and I- at Mary.

Their bodies went stiff when I started walking towards them. I made sure to keep my eyes down, but it didnt matter; the feeling of their stare burning wholes into me was clear.

"Sorry about the frisbee," I apoligized, planning to get the thing and go.

"Its fine," one grunted. He was at _least_ six feet tall with a body like the ones you can only see in work-out DVDs. He made me feel puny when I compare myself to him.

Awkwardly turning away, I started walking back to Erik and Mark when I felt someone grab my arm. Pure instinct told me to pull away, to make the person touching me let go yet I didnt, it would seem strange.

"Ive seen you around here before." the same guy said, still not letting go.

I desperetly wanted to say, "Obviously, you and your friends always stare at us like some wierd stalkers." but stuck with something much less rude and fancy. "Really?Thats nice."

"Yeah, we never got around to saying 'hi'. Im Jacob by the way. Jacob Black. "

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><p><strong>-_- Jacob is now in the story! I dont like the ending its like...a wanna-be cliffhanger but i figured that ive kept you guys waiting long enough. Next chapter will be up in two weeks. why? Because i ve got to start having deadlines or else this story will never get finished. Inspire me by YOUR REVIEWS! I tell me what I should fix, add, yadda yadda yadda. Tell me what you think also! please and thank you<strong>

**~AmericasAngel (master of late updates)**


	12. Day back

**Disclaimer; I do not own twilight.**

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><p>Jacob Black. Jacob name tugged at something from my memory, just like everything else from this god forsaken place and quite frankly I was beginning to feel more than a little uncomfortable with all these familiarities.<p>

This guy-this Jacob Black- I know him, I know I do-But how?

"Bella? Earth to Bella?" I heard someone call, "The universe is in need of your assistance. People are dying of the bubonic plague!"

There was pressure on my shoulder as someone tried to get my attention once more.

"What?" I asked, still distracted by my thoughts of this Jacob Black guy and momentarily forgetting we were in the car on our way back.

Erik gave me a strange look, eyeing my appearance. "You've been out of it since after you talked to those guys at the beach. What happened?"

"Nothing happened." I shrugged, my voice sounding more confident than I felt. "Just went to grab the Frisbee and that's it."

Erik took out his silver lighter- something he's doing more often nowadays-and fumbled with it in his hands officially indicating that he lost interest in the spent the rest of the ride back discussing our findings from the beach -which wasn't much. Part of the beach was off limits to us teenagers, ultimately going against our luck. Mary went on about how Cameron- the guy she met back at La Push (who I got a bad vibe from) - didn't know a thing. Which brought on the question: How can this creature be attacking so many people without being noticed? They must be real clever to stay in the QT.

When we arrived back to the house the Adults turned on the heater(it was chilly as hell!) and we went straight back to research on vampires; each of us either re-reading the files for the nth time or looking through the internet for folklore on those things. These cases called for nonstop work, and it was beginning to take a toll on my sleeping habits. What I have left of them that is.

"Guys, this is useless!" Erik sighed from his spot on the bed next the Females laptop. His face was distressed; you could easily see the bags forming beneath his eyes as well as on the rest of us. The Adults weren't allowing us many chances to rest ourselves from the attempts on getting Anna back. "The files aren't helping us with crap! The internet's filled with a bunch of bull from wanna-be supernatural-knowers!And it's freaking hot in here cause of the heater the adults havent turned off! I can't wait for Monday so Bella can kiss up to Edward Cullen's ass and get his help!"

Mark, sitting with his back against the wall by his 'bed', looked up from his file and chuckled at Erik's choice of words before going back to reading. I, on the other hand, tensed at the mention of the great plan that I came up with, glancing over at Mary across the room in the same position as Mark. She didnt look too happy. Poor girl still isnt talking to me, not since our argument at La Push earlier today. It made the tension between us even worse, yet I tried not to let it get to me; she isnt the only one upset in this house. The past two weeks we've been here have changed her personality drastically, or at least, has changed it towards me.

I wiped some sweat from my brow; Erik was right, it was extremly hot in the house. My palms began to itch a little from the immense heat that surrounded the room. Setting my stuff to the side, got up and made my way towards the window across of me. It was small. curtain-less, and the only one in the whole room which, coincidently, was right over where Mary was sitting. Once she saw me coming towards her , she pushed her stuff to the side and shuffled away from me. The window made an annoying creeking noise as I struggled to get it open. Obviously this thing hasnt been touched for a long time.

Weird, I hadnt notice the sky going dark; I mustve been way into my work to realize it. A strong burst of cold air ran through the room, instantly calming my itchy hands. It was one of those "oh, yeah!" moments poeple get, like the wind was scratching my palms. And yes, I do realize how strange that sounded. The temperature in the room changed, though it was still warm, it was noticably cooler.

"Sweet mother of God!" Erik's eyes practially rolled to the back of his head, clearly greatful for my window-opening gesture. He let himself fall back, landing right on his pillow. "That feels so damn amazing! Like Im being kissed by a million little ice crystals."

"It feels better by the window." I poked my head out of the frame and took a deep, long breath. So fresh!

Behind me, I heard the closing of a laptop and what I could only guess to be Eriks footsteps eagerly coming my way at top speed. Next thing I know, I'm being shoved aside set to hit the side of the window, with my head still poking out. Then, Erik was taking up most of the window space."Oh yes!" He groaned before falling limp to the floor, leaving only his arms to dangle outside. "If ever there was a perfect time to die, it would be right now."

"Dont give me any ideas." I grunted, rubbing my now sore shoulder. This guy can be so melodramatic.

"Stop playing around you two!" Mary voice rang from beside us, clrealy upset. Both Erik and I turned to face her, sighing when we found her glaring at us-well me. "This is why we arent getting anywhere with finding Anna! You get distracted so easily."

I stared at her, angered with her blaming me. I mean, yes it was my fault Anna got abducted in the first place, but I'm trying- I really am.

"Stop getting upset at me." I pulled away from the window and faced her directly. "I want find her! Hell! I'm even planning on getting close to Edward Cullen! Who may or may not be one them! You on the other hand dont want me to do that! Why? Because poeple might start thinking bad about you! Your the one risking our only lead to find Anna for your own selfishness! So stop getting upset with me!"

Mark came over to me, trying to calm me down a bit but I pulled away before he could touch me.

"You promised you wouldnt do anything to jeapordize my first highschool experience." She seethed now standing up to reach my eye level, "You going to break a promise now, Isabella? Hurt me? Sure, why not, right?" She shrugged calming down a bit, but I could sense what she was going to say. "You already hurt everything you touch. Use Cullen. What ever."

There was an imaginary crowd in my head that "Ooohh"d at Mary's last remark. It was, infact, a low blow for me.

"Be quiet!" Erik suddenly said, his voice slightly frantic.

Mary huffed, "No, why should-"

But Erik narrowed his eyes at her, leaving no room to go against him. "I said shut up! We're being watched." He jerked his head to the side, basically pointing out the window.

Mark looked outside, searching, until he finally found what he was looking for. "Over there." He pointed at an open area in the woods, the only spot where there wasnt a tree. Too obvious. "They're gone but there's a footprint. Nice and firm- and clear. I'd say, who ever it was, they clearly wanted us to see them, or at least know they were there."

"The vampire?" Erik asked.

"Hard to say. Maybe. I dont know, Ive never seen a vamp print before."

"Well, one things for sure," Erik sighed, "The Adults arent going to be too happy when they hear about this."

* * *

><p>Monday came around again, and we were all less than excited for going back to school, me specifically.<p>

On Sunday, we told the adults about the stalker from Saturday night and they had a cow. You know what? Scratch that, they had a pig, a donkey, a cat, a dog, a goose, a hamster, the whole enchilada! It was frightening seeing them pissed. Frightening but not , after they managed to calm down a bit; you know take a breather after drinking beer- we asked them on our cover story for Anna. People would surely ask of her sudden disappearance and we would have to respond: "She had to finish some stuff back in Texas." and when people would ask us what, we'd say "some important school business thing, long story don't ask." They chose now to go specific. Where were their brains when I had to lie about my parents' names and all that good stuff?

Nonetheless, here we are now! Fixing to get in the monstrous truck of ours and face the life of teenagers who aren't hunters!

The skies were raining, the temperature was ridiculously low, and we're all just about done getting ready when Erik couldn't decide on what color shirt to wear. What the big deal is between red and blue is beyond me. Granted, this was coming from a girl who will always choose a black long sleeved shirt over a normal T any day, like right now. Of course, today its going to be an extra long black sweater-long enough to fully cover my hands; Ive yet to get new gloves to replace the ones I lost in the woods.

Anyway,in the end, he went with blue a put on an old leather jacket on top of it. What upset me about his taking his goddam time was not because he was making us run late, I could care less about that, it was the fact that a lot of people would already be at school. God knows how I don't like people.

And, behold! Isabella Carter was right! When we arrived, the parking lot was practically full and the amount of people was unnerving. Thankfully we manage to find a spot next to an old gray Jetta, but it was the farthest from the school and thus we were giving no other choice but to have to walk in the rain longer than needed. I made sure to stick with Mark; he was the least social out of all of us if you didn't count me and the most reliable to not bail on you when a hot chick showed up or when Jessica Stanley needed a friend to gossip to.

People still stared at us; something told me that the stares would've died down by now if we haven't missed a whole week after just showing up.

We walked to first period after the warning bell rang throughout the school yard. It was pretty awkward considering the fact that I had to sit next to Mary for a good hour before getting to leave. Mr. Mason was oblivious to the tension between the two of us and so made us partners in some reading activity. Needless to say, it took us a whole lot longer to finish the assignment. I, being Bella Super-Nice-and-Cool Carter, was willing to set aside my grudge for the sake of our daily grade; Mary wasn', in the end, we did finish Mary turned her chair away from and started talking to Tyler. I've yet to tell her the little threat her 'friend' Lauren Mallory warned me to give to her, but I don't think it's that important for her to know. She's a big girl; she can take care of herself.

I was left to look like a loner in this chilly room, with either my fingers drumming on top the side of the desk or wasting what's left of my pencil lead doodling on some random piece of paper someone had left on the floor.

A paper landed in front of me. I turned to see who could possibly be the one to interrupt my drawing of a crappy batman logo. Erik; I should've known. I opened the crumpled piece of paper and read:

_'Mark thinks he has something. Stick around for lunch this time, tell Mary.'_

I nudged at her shoulder, telling her to look at the paper and letting out a sigh when all she did was shove the paper aside after reading it. Me stick around, Erik? You're telling the wrong person.

When the bell rang after first period my two amazing guy cousins decided to walk with me to the cafeteria. Mary, who was the only one that hadn't had enough with socializing amongst our peers, ditched us for Jessica and the others. Turns out, normal teens can get dreadfully boring.

We made sure to stay many steps behind everyone, walking to a round empty table near the corner of the cafeteria. It was dim lit and surrounded by more empty tables but my teammates and I needed the privacy to talk. I secretly hoped that we were far enough away from the Cullen's table for them not to hear us, what with their advance ears and set our backpacks down in front of us, crowding the center of the table and went to Hunter mode. Wasting valuable time was not in our agenda, not today at least.

My eyes flickered around the cafeteria, content when I noticed no one was paying any attention to us before turning back to my 'family'. Mark unzipped his backpack to pull out the two files and set them in the middle of the table.

"Remember what Anna said?" He started off in a whisper, "How the answer to killing a vampire might be simple, that we might just have to torch the thing and be done?" He waited for us to respond then pointed at the part of the file that read _'Fire is the only element that can destroy a vampire permanently.'_ "Well, I've been thinking, what if she was right? The adults might've been wrong; the answer had been facing us the whole time."

Erik's face was doubtful, "Nah, man. It can't be that simple. They're immortals for crying out loud. What other thing out there involves just burning them and be over with it."

"Spirits," I named off, immediately coming up with a few examples, "Windigos; Humans- put that thing away before someone sees." Erik had taken out his lighter and started 'messing' around with it, how completely careless of him! I was about to tell him off when I noticed five certain poeple walking towards the lunch line across the cafeteria.

"Chill Bella," Erik laughed, putting his lighter back into his jean pockets, "Its not like anyones gunnu see me doing my thang. We are a good many meters away from civilization."

Across from us, the Cullen's have finally taken their seats at their usual table. It was almost hard to believe that they were vampires-our enemies. They looked so normal apart from their pale skin and unique golden eyes plus the way they acted, from what I could tell, they looked like a real family. It almost made me feel guilty for planning on hurting them, but I still had my head on straight. I was determined, now more than ever, to get what I need. I musnt get attached like Mary, hell no.

I need to see if they really can hear from far way."The pale monkeys have entered the building," I announced in a fake whisper while staring the the Cullen's. "I repeat; the pale monkeys have entered the building. Three o'clock." I noticed one of them, a guy, their head twitched to the side. It wasnt Edward, I know that much, but I couldnt recall the others name. Was it...Jimmy? Emanuel? Well it was the blond one sitting next to the small pixie chick.

Mark stared at me, confused as to what I was reffering to. "Pardon? What monkeys?"

Erik sighed, taking out his lighter. Again! "Guys, Can we not randomly bring up zoo animals into the conversation and get back to talking about the vamp-"

I reached across the table and snatched the lighter away from his hands, careful as to not actually touch him. "I am confiscating _this",_ I waved the object infront of his face, "until further notice. Expect Aunt Sarah to hear about it. And try not to talk so loud; poeple might think your a nerd if they hear you talking about that dumb new video game of yours."

Erik had no idea what I was talking about or even why I was referring to the female as my Aunt when we were so far away from anyone from hearing but I couldnt really tell him straight up. Yes, I dont know what made the blond guy respond, whether it was really me or something else, but i wasnt taking any chances. Instead, I jerked my head to the side towards the Cullens table while putting away Eriks stupid lighter intp my pocket. He immedietly understood after looking.

"I think its best if we just head off to the library." Mark suggested, piecing the clues together. We were about to stand up, when I noticed Edward Cullen staring at us. He seemed confused, his little perfectly shaped eyebrows scrunching together in a cute way; well-cute for a vampire that can kill every human here in less than five mintues.

"What about Mary?" Erik suddenly asked while picking up his backpack from the seat, "Do we just leave her in the hands of weak, talkitive teenagers who dont know the difference between imaginitive and plain stupidity?"

"I suppose so," Mark sighed, not liking the idea, "Its not like we can force her." He glanced over to Jessicas table where Mary was currently sitting in. Mike, Eric, Tyler, and other poeple whos name I didnt bother remembering sat around her. I frowned when something Tyler said had her laughing. Perfect.

"Lets just go." I hurried, "You guys can fill her in on the details later." Edward Cullen was still looking over to our table, and the whole situation got from flattering to wierd and uncomfortable.

We left the table with the chairs still poking out, and walked out of the cafeteria. No one bothered to look at us as we made our way, besides Cullen, and we were grateful. I guess thats one of the good sides of Mary willing to absorb most of the attention.

When we got to the library it was pretty much empty besides the librarian and this one girl in the corner. I led my dear cousins towards the computers, being the one who spent the most time here than all of them put together- some may say I know my way around better.

"What are we looking for?" I asked as I watched Mark type rapidly on the key board, only glancing away to look at one of the files he had laid out beside him.

"For any connections or similarites the victims have with one another." He answered simply, barley sparing me a look.

"So we're switching cases?"

"We cant spend all our time trying to find Anna." Mark reasoned, though I could tell he wanted nothing more than to do just that. "Besides, you're going to get all the information we need with Cullen, right? Might as well work on this case also."

He continued to look through the internet while Erik flipped through the files. I was given nothing to do, so all I _could _do was stare over Marks shoulders and see if I could get anything he might miss. Theres only one thing I hate more than Mary being useless and that was _me_ being useless.

"Samantha Davis," Erik read aloud, "She was in the volleyball team in Franklin High School down in Seattle. Had straight A and B's; well liked apparently, had many, many guys behind her." He looked at her picture and smirked before continuing. "She volunteered at a help center near her school and was taking martial arts classes."

"Jordan Wilkinson; 16, Male. His parents were divorced and a trouble maker I see," he chuckled as he kicked his feet up on a nearby wooden chair."Got in about nine fights in his middle school years and seven in his first two in Highschool. Not alot of poeple knew him; His disappearnce was only noticed by his parents and his friend."

"Depressing," I sighed, "Does it say if he was with anyone when he was taken?"

Erik scanned through the paper, "Yeah, says here he with a Timmy Matthews; he's the one who reported him missing. Says he lives in...Forks, Washington. " He suddenly looked up to smile at me, "I feel like making a new friend, dont you?"

"I am, infact, feeling rather friendly." Mark played along.

I shook my head. Couldnt they just say something more 'hunter' like? Something along the lines of "I think we just might have to interrogate this guy" or something?

"Making friends is going to have to be put off till after school, guys." I sighed. "Right now, we have an image to protect."

"Spoken like someone who really cares about said image," Erik chuckled, "Maybe Mary's rubbing off on you- Ow! Kidding!" I slapped him upside the head, secretly thankful for the sleeves that passed way beyond my hands.

The librarian shushed us from behind her desk. "Dang teenagers," I managed to hear her murmur, "No respect for quiet places."

"So, about this whole Mary thing," Erik started as he closed the file and set it down next to the computer, "Someone needs to slap her and I mean _really _slap her back into reason. I nominee Bella Carter for the job!"

My eyes widened. "What? Why me?"

"Isnt it obvious? You have motive to hit her crazy! Plus," he shrugged, "Both Mark and I are guys."

"The verdict is still out on that," I teased, trying to keep a straight face. My little joke earned me the bird from my dear relalitve Erik. "But seriously; I cant talk to her about it, she wont listen. We have to have one of the Adults talk to her about it."

"No," Mark refused, "They'll just give her a dose of the Kryptonite. It has to be us that talk to her. I guess I'll do it."

"Just dont do it when I'm around," I pleaded, "I've had enough of her yelling and accusations."

Just then the bell rang and we set off to our next class; Biology-the place where I was partnered up with Edward Cullen.

I wouldnt actually admit this to my fellow hunters, but I was actually sorta overly excited about having to be friends with Cullen. This is my first real vampire case! Who wouldnt be looking forward to this!

When we entered the room almost everyone was already there and none payed any mind to use as we made our way to our seats. They all seemed too interested in their own conversations about new styles and hot celebreties to even glance at our way, of course I wasnt complaining. It was sort of refreshing, a great change from how it ws this morning.

Edward was already at his seat when I sat down next to him. He didnt even say hello, talk about awkward. Seems to me that getting him to trust me might be just as dificult as I thought, if not more.

"Hello," I tried to give a friendly smile. Vampires like friendly smiles right?

No. He wasnt a big fan of them, this kid just gave a short nod as a reply and continued to stare straight ahead. This was a dramatic mood change from the time in the woods. What's up with poeple and they're PMS'ing? First Mary, then the whole student body ignoring my cousins and I, now this? Cant there be a single being here with a stable emotion?

"So..." This is where my horrible skills at small talk begins, "How's life in America? Is it everything you'd thought it would be when you came out of the womb?"He didnt even crack a smile, or a lip twitch for that matter. C'mon! What does a girl need to do to get some immortal guy's attention around here!"Ignoring a lady is very rude, you know. Infact, I think it might be frowned upon in most countries."

This got him to turn and look at me. Aha! He doesnt like being rude! Clue number one to the mystery of Cullen! Granted, his face still looked serious and not the 'I rather do my work' kind of serious but the 'I rather not talk to you at all' kind of serious. Still, its better than nothing. "America is treating me very well, thank you." He said in what seemed to be a bored tone.

"Geez, who put a square in your circle this morning?"

His face slightly softened, but only barley. "You didnt come to school for a while." He pointed out.

I sighed. First person to ask. "Yeah, we had to finish unpacking."

He nodded, as if processing what I said."And your cousin? Why isnt she here today?"

"She had to go back to Texas for a while; some work to do."

"Why didnt everyone else go with her?" Edward looked legitametly interested in what seems to be going on. Its creepy.

I gave a short laugh, humoring away that last thought. "Whats with all the questions?"

"Just curious." He shrugged, turning away from me and focusing on something in the front.

There was a sound of a door closing, and I looked up to see the teacher setting his coffee down on the corner of his desk. He turned his back to us, grabbed a broken piece of white chalk and started writting on the board. Guess that means no talking time for Edward dearest and me.

As the teacher started the lesson, I snuck a glance at Edward only to find that he was still facing the front, still focused-as if he actually cared what the teacher was saying. For all I know, he actually might.

I huffed, drumming my fingers against my notebook. Okay, plan Make-Friends-With-A-Vamp-Via-Conversation was a huge, mega failer. Guess I have to move on to plan B...once I come up with it. You know what? With Edward's wierd mood changing attitude, I'd better make a plan for the whole alphabet.

How's an easy way to befriend a vampire? They like blood, but I cant go up to to this one with a cup of human blood and be all: "Hey, have a drink with me and be my friend.", that would have him running the other direction...I think.

"Open your book to page 301..." I faintly heard the teacher instruct.

Instinctivly, I reached to the corner of my side of the desk, where I remember the book being last time, but found it wasnt there. I looked aroud the room, every desk here had only one book which means that partners have to share and _that_ added with my empty corner meant that Edward had the book and I had to share with him.

He placed the book in between us before flipping through the pages.

I zooned out again, and it wasnt long before the bell scared the bageebuz out of me. Erik thought it was hilarious and decided to tease me the walk to gym class and _in _gym class.

"Isnt it ironic?" Erik laughed for the billion something time. We were sitting on the wooden bench waiting for our turn to run. "Bells afraid of the bell!"

"Bel-la," I pronounced, "Not Bells, not Isabella; Bella." Yes, one can say that I am touchy about what poeple call me but screw it! I like being called one name and one name only.

"I Wonder," he continued as if I hadnt said a word, "If I carry one of those portable bells, I can have you trembling every second of every day."

"Keep it up, and you will never get your lighter back." I patted my pocket and felt the dent Eriks entertainment was making. I transferred it to my gym shorts after the awkward Mary and me moment in the locker room when we had to change.

His eyes widened as his mouth formed a giant 'o'. I bet I know what he's thinking: No! Not my baby! Anything but my baby!

"Yeah," I mock cackled, "Not so funny now is it?"

And so, the rest of the gym class was spent running, sweating, and Erik watching what he said about my momentary bell scare.

In the locker room I did a quick change as I was eager to get the hell away from Mary.

"Tell the guys Ill meet them at the car." I told her, giving her a shy two-fingered wave before running out the door.

It was still cloudy, and I swear there were a few drops of rain that managed to get in my eye but it was refreshing after coming out gym.

I couldnt describe the emence relief I felt with my black sweater back on, now I dont have to be too carefull on what I do, or rather, touch. And yes, I am aware on how inappropriate that sounded, thank you.

There were too many students walking around in the parking lot, it was almost intimidating. I ducked my head and speed walked to the red piece of metal I'm happy to call my truck. My cousins have yet to leave the gym, so I decided to be a good sport and wait for them outside the car.

Cullen and his family were at the other side of the parking lot, some of them already getting in the car. Creepy part? Edward was staring at me, leading me to think he had a serious staring problem and needed an intervention.

I adverted my gaze away from him and juggled the keys back and forth between my hands. I mustve appeared like a child, looking so interesting in a shiny thing that was being thrown around by two small hands covered by the sleeves of my sweater.

One. Two. Three. I counted the many times I managed to catch the keys and was about to reach my new record (17) when clumsy old me; they slipped through my hands and fell straight into a puddle.

Despite the fact that I hated bending down, I did so for the simple chance of having a ride back to the house. I didnt get to reach the puddle before I heard a screeching noise and screaming. I looked up and saw a blue van skidding and squealing against the brakes across the parking lot. It was going to hit the corner of my truck, and lucky me! I was standing in between them.

It would be me getting hit by a car.

Somehow I got a clear picture of everything around me, nothing like in the movies how they make things seem in slow motion. Edward Cullen, from across the lot, was staring at me in horror before switching to something in the woods then back to me. His face somehow stood out from the sea of faces, who were all frozen in the same mask of shock. But most importantly, apart from the van coming my way, there was twinge of movement at the top of the trees near from the side of the parking lot. I couldve sworn I saw James watching from behind a branch, smiling wickedly at me with blood red lips. Was that what Edward was looking at a moment ago?

I didnt have time to think much after that. My eyes switched back to the van and I involunterally froze. My mind was screaming "Get out of the way! Move!" but my legs were doing the exact opposite.

I closed my eyes as I waiting for the crunch of the van against my truck. Something hit me, hard, but not at all from the direction that i was anticipating.

My head smashed against the ice top creating a sharp pain up to the side, something hard and cold was holding me down. I was laying beside the tan car I parked next to, but it seemed that I still wasnt in the clear. The van continued to come towards me and I heard the voice any girl could recognize murmur something intelligible. Right. Beside. Me.

My legs were pushed to the side like a rag doll then a pale hand shot out just in time to shove the van a few inches away from me. Yes, folks, I said _SHOVED!_ Not only that, this said hand made a freaking hand shaped dent at the side of it.

"Bella?", Edward asked over the many voices and screams of my fellow peers.

I was a bit groggy, like how you feel when you barley wake up from a deep sleep. I realzed that he was touching me and struggled to put some massive distance between us, him and his super strength and all, putting dents on vans and crap.

"Dont move. I think you hit your head."

"You dont say." I murmured, wincing when I rubbed the side of my head and faintly hearing him give a chuckle. There was going to be a bruise in the morning. "How did you get over here so fast?" I asked him, though I already knew the answer. What this chick really wanted to scream was, "Poeple couldve seen you, dumbass!" or, you know, something like that.

Most trace of humor left his eyes and his voice became slightly strained. "I was standing right next to you." He looked straight at me, his topaz gaze never wavering from mine as though trying to will me to believe his little lie and truth be told, I almost did, but me being awsome and all didnt. Cause' Im just that good.

"No, you werent. You were all the way over there." I pointing away from me, hoping he'd understand I didnt mean the van since it was in the way.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Edward quickly shook his head. "You hit your head pretty hard, you should get it checked out."

Before I could say a thing the sound of peramedics filled my surroundings loud and clear like a blowhorn. The loud noise made my head ache and it didnt help that I had a possible freakn concussion.

Ill be damned if I go to the hospital; the adults could patch me up just fine.

"Is everyone okay here?" one tall perimedic asked. His eyes switched between Edward and I waitng for us to answer.

"Im okay!." I wanted to say, but Edward was such a gentleman that he answered for me.

"She hit her head pretty hard." He gestured towards me and the peramedic immiedetly called for a stretcher.

I tried my best to refuse, hell, I think I even bit the guy's arm, but nothing stopped them from putting me on that stretcher and placing one of those ugly neckbraces around me. My face flushed red at how stupid I felt and then became slightly angry when they werent doing the same thing to Edward. He claimed his father was a doctor and said he's have him check him out. Lucky Bastard.

He rode with me on the way to the hospital and thought it be best if I gave him the silent treatment.

How the hell was I supposed to get out of this? Going to the hospital meant seeing doctors. Seeing doctors meant them inspecting me or whatever. Inspecting me or whatever meant skin contact and I dont need to be reminded on what happens when someone was unfortunate enough to makes skin contact with me. The adults are going to _kill_ me.

* * *

><p>It felt like a looong ride to the hospital, what with me worrying and Edward Cullen accompanying its only reasonable for it so feel so.<p>

The room they put me in was a nightmare! Only cause they put Tyler, the guy that almost killed me, at the other side of the big curtain that couldnt be big enough.

"Bella, I am so sorry." He told me for the gazillionth time. A small gash of blood streamed down one side of his forehead and down his cheek. Poor guy, he's the one who actually got hurt here, not me.

"Calm down, I wasnt hurt." I reasoned, shaking my arms and legs to prove my point. "Edward pushed me out of the way on time." This didnt stop him though. While the nurses were trying to clean his head wound he would look back over at me and apologize. Thats when it started to get annoying. Yes, not after the gazillionth time, but after the gazillionth and one time.

I grabbed the curtain and pulled it to it was covering most of my left side, Tyler's side. Of course, his words still passed through the curtain, but as long I couldnt see him, I am good.

I laid back on the bed , shutting my eyes as if trying to shut out the sounds around me as I thought of a way to get out of here. Or at least a convincing lie as to why the doctor was suddenly on the floor in pain while touching my arm or something. And I just came up with blaming it an a tazer when I felt someone watching me. My eyes snapped opened, quickly doing a looky around the room nad then stopped.

Freaking Edward Cullen was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking like a hot, sexy idiot.

"What's the verdict?" he asked, moving to stand against the wall.

" Theres nothing wrong with me at all, "I complained, "But they wont let me go."

Then a doctor came around the corner and my jaw dropped. He was young, blond...and hotter than any super model on the market. He was pale though, and tired-looking. Edward's father was a doctor, and from the similarities it had to be this one.

"So, Miss. Carter", Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I want to leave," I sighed as I sat comfortably on the bed, then, since I knew what he really meant i said, "I'm fine."

He walked over to a white box looking thing on the wall and turned it on. "Your X-rays look good. Hows your head? Edward told me you hit it pretty hard."

I frowned quickly at Edward. "Its fine."

Dr. Cullen walked over back to me and reached to touch the top of my head. I quickly moved back though, it was dangerous for someone to touch me. "What are you doing?" I looked at his hand warily, as if it was some sort of gun or something.

"I'm checking to see if its tender." He answered, looking slightly confused.

"It hurts a little when I touch it." I told him, hoping he'd take my word for it and leave it alone.

"Well let me just-"

"Look, you said my X-rays looked good, and my head doesnt hurt too bad .Believe it or not Ive had worse; can I go now?" My leg starting to bounce impatiently and I didnt fail to notice Edwards narrowed gaze at me.

He sighed, finally nodding. "Your family's in the waiting room-you can go with them now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."

That was all that needed to be said before I threw my legs over the side if the bed and hopped down quickly. I staggered a little in the process and when Dr. Cullen looked at me with concern I waved it off, blaming it on my balance problems.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain." He suggested after he steadied me; thank god for my sleeves!

I nodded, not wanting to be help up much longer here. I made my way towards the doors then I remembered. Edward. I have to talk to him about this whole thing. Granted, I already knew the answer but still. I wanted to hear _him _say it. Also, the whole James thing. I saw him, I was sure of it! And I wanted to know if that was what Edward was looking at.

I whizzed around, looking straight at him. "Can we talk? Privetly?"

His face became serious at my words, something they seem to be doing a lot to him, but he nodded nonetheless and took me out in the hall way.

"What do you want?" He asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold.

"I want to know how you got over to me so fast." It was a long shot for him to say, "cause Im a super cool vampire." but hey, I kept my hopes up.

"I was right next to you, Bella." He did that eye thing again, the thing- like he was forcing me to believe it. Thats what Im going to kall it now, The Thing. Smart, huh?

"No, you were acrossthe parking lot. I saw you." There was more force in my voice than I'd intened. Opps.

"You hit-"

My anger was starting to spike up a bit at his avoidence and I glared at him."Dont you even try with that again. My head is fine."

He glared back at me."I saved your life. Cant you just thank me and get over it?"

"Thank you." I waited, fuming and expectant.

"Your not going to let this go are you?"

"Im not the of my many flaws, or so my family says."

"Well in that case...I hope you enjoy disappoinment."

We stood there scowling at one another, waiting to see who would brake first. Sadly, I was first to speak , it was only a matter of time with having to have a stare down with_ his_ face. Hello! Inhumanly beautiful! Anyone remember that detail? Yeah well, it was like glaring at a destroying angel. Just imagine that.

"Just tell me the truth."

He gave me a short humorless chuckle and turned to leave. Crap, I thought, I have to think fast.

I found myself grabbing his arm roughly-for a girl at least- and making him look at me. My hand wasnt actually touching him, his leather jacket added as much protection needed. "I know you know something." I rushed, "You saw something, over near the woods. You have to tell me."

He stared at me with shock but then recomposed himself so quick, I was sure I imagned it. "Bella, I have no idea as to what you're talking about." He spoke each word slowly, as if talking to a two year-old. Before I could say anything, he somewhat yanked his arm away from me and walked down the hallway, leaving.

I hit my palm against my forehead. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" I muttered, angry with myself for letting something slip. My feet dragged their way through the doors to where my 'family were sitting. The moment they say me, they were all on there feet. The adults, of course were acting as the loving aunt and uncle, but I felt my throat close up a bit when I saw the real concern on my cousin's faces. Even Mary, though I could tell she tried to hide it.

"Are you okay? What the hell happened?" Mark asked, doing a quick look over my body. Okay, that sounded perverted...

"Im fine. Im fine." I repeated, for the last time I hope.

Erik came over to me and lowered his voice. "What about Edward? How'd it go with him."

I looked down at my feet, disappointed in myself. "I think I might of ruined our chances." i didnt say anything after that. I just wanted to go home. Whatever that was for a hunter.

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><p><strong>Hows that? Sorry about the delay. The excuse was a mixture of Writers block, tests, and not enough time. But I made it longer than the others:D so i really hope that this makes up for it, if only a little. I did use the book for refrence, so if someparts you read seemed even well written, I probably copied from the book ^_^ but it wasnt alot though sooo..hehe <strong>

**~AmericasAngel.**


	13. Painless Pain

**Hey soo...this isnt my favorite chapter and its sure as hell really short. Like REALLY SHORT, but I had to put this in for future referances. SOWY:( next one will be better! I SWEAR! It might be short too but still.**

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><p>Once we arrived back at the house the Adults instructed us to go to the living room. They seemed pretty ticked off with what happened; my guess was them remembering my ability and the dangers of poeple touching me. I bet they regret ever taking me out of Divisionnow.<p>

My 'cousins' and I sat down on the small couch; sadly it was still small and we were all squished together like a really bad ham and cheese sandwhich.

The Adults stood infront of us, like they always do when they're preparing to give a piece of their mind or 'talk through' something

."First thing's first; What the hell happened ?"The Males voice narrowed down to me ,"How the hell did you manage to almost get crushed by a van?"

I shrugged. What else could I do? He was talking as though I had choice on the matter. "Its not like I called the van over to kill me."

"Second thing; What happened inside the hospital? Did you do anything to keep poeple from touching you?" The female looked genually curious. Despite my clumsiness and job title; this was the first time I was taken to the hospital...and a _normal _one at that. You know, not the kind that involves men in white coats injecting me with what Mr. Sixx thought would inhance our abilities.

"I acted like an ignorrant teenager that didnt want to be touched, as you wouldve wanted." My smile was a fake and sweet one, letting them know that I, by no means, liked treating someone like that; even for a vampire. Which reminds me. " I found something that I think might interest you, by the way." I waited for them to answer but they just stared at me expectantly along with my cousins. "Okay, then. One of the vampires is- wait for it-" I laughed, "A doctor!"

The Adults gave me a blank stare, the knew found knowledge ovbiously hasnt sunk in yet.

"Very funny Bella. Doctors." Erik snorted, patting his hand on the armrest of the couch. " And here I thought you didnt have a sence of humor. What did you really find out?"

I glared at his remark, "I'm one-hundred percent serious Erik Harris! Edward said that his father was a doctor and-"

"So what?"He interupted, still chuckling a little "The kid had to be making it up to get out of being checked into the hospital, Bella. Geez, has being here really dampened your ability to know when someones lying to you?"

"Let me finish, would ya'!" I semi-growled. Erik lifted his hands in mock surrender. "While I was in the hospital I had the pleasure of meeting Edwards father, Dr. Cullen, who tried at least to treat my head."

"Impossible." The Female muttured as she stared at the floor with a shock expression. "A vampire being around so much blood...thats-"The Male finally spoke up,

"Its worse than we originally thought," his face looked generally concerned as he glanced over to the Female. "The coven must be taking blood from the hospital to feed themselves."

"But wouldnt so much missing blood be suspicious?" Mary asked from beside Mark.

"They're vampires," Mark sighed, unhappy. "They have their ways."

" Well I for one cant wait to burn them." Erik cracked his knuckles for special effect, making Mary laugh. I couldnt help but give a small grimace at his enthusiasm; I swear, sometimes I think that Erik is one of those poeple that thinks of Chucky the Killer Doll as a dream as opposed as a nightmare.

The female sighed. "We'd tell you to go and stretch out your abilities outside but you know...you kids sort of have a vampire that wants to kill you." She smiles as if it was an everyday thing. Hey, to us hunters, it is. "Oh, by the way Isabella." The Female chucked something black at me. "We took the liberty to buy you a new pair of gloves. No need in having a hazard walk around the halls of Forks High any longer."

"Gee, Thanks." I muttured sarcasticaly as I eagerly put the gloves on. "So is that all you wanted to discuss?"

The Male spoke this time. "Yes and No." He said. "Its all we need to discuss with the others, but not with you, Isabella." He waved a hand at the others, his motion to dismissing them.

The others got up reluctantly, unsure if leaving only me with Adults was a good thing. I shot Mark a smile, no need for worry over a hazard-as the Female was kind enough to label me.

The Adults waited until after the others have left to go looking for something in the kitchen cabinets. Moments later they came back with each carrying needles and two viles containing some sort of clear liquid.

I looked at them wearly. "What is that?"

The Male shook one of the viles around and gave me disgusted look. "Its a formula. Makes someone incapable to feel a thing, awake or asleep." He sighed. "It doesnt exactly feel like paradise during the injection but orders are orders."

I looked at them confused. Why did they have these viles? Its not like they have enough to give to everyone in Forks. "I dont understand where your going with this. What orders? How did you get the formula?"

"We need to get your power under control. And this" The female tossed a vile in the air. "is going to help. At least we hope. We're going to inject this into ourselves and then you can work your power on us all you want. We wont feel a thing."

I Was still unsure of this idea. Yeah, I've always wanted to use the Adults for testing dummies but they will kill me if I actually hurt them. "And you guarantee you wont feel a thing?"

"Not exactly a one-hundred percent quarantee, but, like I said" The male sighed, "Orders are orders."

I studied the viles a little more, still a bit confused. "Who gave you these orders? Mr. Sixx?"

The Female nodded as she stuck one of those long needles into the bottle and took hold some of the Formula into it. She flicked the bottle part of the needle, taking the air bubbles out, and turned to give me a look of uncertainty. "I'm going first. Off the couch."

I jumped to my feet to stand away from the couch and watched as the female laid on the spot I sat on moments before.

She turned her head to me. "Focus on how you feel." She advised, "Control it. Thats how the others deal with their own abilities."I held back a shudder as she stuck the needle into her arm, her eyes squinting a bit at the pain. God, I hated eyes fluttered closed once she relaxed into the couch, it was almost like she was sleepiing.

The male went to her side and checked her heartbeat before giving me the 'ok' to hurt the hell out of her.I kneeled beside her as I took of my new gloves and let my hands hover over the Female's arm, practiaclly centemeters away from toucher her.

"Okay, Bella." I sucked in a full breath of air. "Focus."A sudden burst of red flashed behind my eyelids as my hands made contact with the females skin. It stood out like a small flame and I mentally shifted towards it, trying to grab it with virtual fingertip. The red flame figure remaind the size of a golf ball, much to my dissmay. No matter how hard the virtual fingers pushed and pulled and tried to mold it like clay; the red flame didnt do a thing. It didnt even flinch.

I huffed and set my hands down on my lap. "This is useless."

The Male was standing at the other side of the couch to observe what I was doing. His eyes narrowed when I stayed put. "You werent trying hard enough."

My voice became hard. "Yes. I was." I reached to get the gloves when the Male interupted me in the process.

He gave me a humorless laugh as he made his way beside me. I followed his movements carefully, fearing that I might of angered by talking back to him. "Obviously you werent. You were only 'trying' for two damn minutes. Try."He roughly pushed my back forward as he urged me to continue. "Again."

"Fine." I said through gritted teeth. The same flash of red appeared when I went back to the Females arms and focused on what she told me before. All about the feelings. If only it was that easy.

My head had a sharp pain as my breathing shifted, becoming more forced than relaxed. I began to worry. This isnt working, none of this is working and it might never will. But it has to, or I'll always have to wear sweaters and gloves, I'll always have to keep my distance from poeple around me.

I'll always be a freaking hazard.

The Female's arm began to jerk beneath my hands making my eyes snap open at the sudden movement. I momentarily froze once the she let a small groan leave her lips.

"Whats happening?" I lifted my now shaking hands from her as the Male looked over the Female.

He patted the Female's cheek, urging her to wake up. "It appears the Formula has worn off." His voice was confused as he glanced over at the empty vile of Formula.

"So fast?" Just then the Female started gaining consciousness again- I didnt know she really did pass out. Her eyelids seemed heavy as she had a hard time getting them even half way open.

The male, still sitting beside me, did nothing else but stare at her.

She shaked her head, and finally blinked her eyes open. "What happened?" She groaned, rubbing her arm.

"Isabella," The male ordered, waving his hand at me. "Your dismissed. We will try this again tomorow."

"Again?"My eyes widened and pointed a finger at the Female. "But she still felt-"

"Isabella." He turned to me, his lips in a tight line. "Tomorow."

I held back the urge to curse at him as I picked up the gloves and got up from my knees. They felt a little weak from using my abilities and the sudden head ache had yet to dim down. Despite the jelly knees, I still managed to reach the room and to the comfort that is my bed on the floor.

Erik and Mary were on the Females computer when I walked in and only got a glance as acknowledgment. Mark was kind enough to try check on me, but I raised a hand and told him to let me rest. The head ache got worse after a couple of minutes,and I instanlty wished for some Tylonol to come floating my way.

And this, my dear reader, is where I took the liberty of passing out. It was only like-what? Four o'clock? It seemed like a pretty good time to be ingulfed in darkness if you ask me.

Note to self: Take a thousand pills of Tylonol before working with the Adults.

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><p><strong>Review my little piggies!:) I still need to work on my writting a bit as you can tell, but I swear, the next chapter shall be better:)<strong>

**`AmericasAngel**


	14. Threats of the Undead

**Long time no update huh? Well, Im back and finally understand where Im going with this! Heres the chapter! Hope you guys like it**

**Disclaimer- I dont own twilight.**

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><p>The moment I woke up from my deep slumber I was surrounded by three of the most curious human beings this world has ever met. My 'cousins' surrounded my sleeping area, leaving me hardly any room to breathe.<p>

"I swear it wasn't me who spread those rumors about you guys!" I covered my face as I faked cried, "Don't kill me!" I pulled the blankets over my head and instantly relaxed, hoping they'd leave me to sleep some more.

"What happened with the Adults?" Erik yanked the covers off of me as he stood over me with a curious expression.

"Forget the Adults," Mary, who was kneeling beside me a moment ago, stood with her hands on her hips. "What rumors?"

It took me a moment to answer her considering that she was talking to me, legitimately talking to me. And all it took was for me to get nearly killed by a van.I sighed. "I was kidding."

"You better…"She mumbled as she settled down beside me once more. 'So what did the Adults have to discuss with you?"

Mark and Erik followed Mary's gesture, sitting down around me as well.

I sat up and pulled the covers over my shoulders, more than a bit uncomfortable with the sudden proximity."It wasn't so much of discussing anything," I shrugged; "As it was practicing." By the look on their faces, they didn't understand what I meant so I continued. "They got this new formula thing that makes people not feel anything at all and they wanted to use it for my practicing purposes."

Mark's head snapped to me. "Well?" He urged when I didn't say anything else. "What happened? Did it work?"

My fingers fumbled with the edge of my blanket. "It only lasted for a couple of minutes before the Female started gaining consciousness again. Now, if you're asking whether or not I gained a teeny tiny bit of control over my ability, then no."

Erik wrapped his arm around back, faking a face with some sort of sympathy. "Bummer, Bella, Bummer." He squeezed my shoulders and sighed. "You know what would make you feel better?"I looked at him confused, the look making him smile. "Doing a good deed. You know what a good deed is, Bella?"

My gloved hands gripped at the blanket as I turned to glare at him. "Being a hunter, Erik, I am more than just a little familiar with what a good deed is. "

Again, he sighed through the smile of his as he let go of my shoulders. "Yes, but that's a major good deed." He clasped his hands together as he stared into me, much like a therapist. "I'm talking about a small good deed. I've heard they make bigger differences and last longer than a major good deed and guess what! I know someone in major need for a small good deed!"

Immediately, I understood Erik's whole reason for the speech. I reached into my pocket and pulled out his lighter."Here Erik," I tossed it to his lap. "Enjoy it. Cherish it. You never know when I might take it again."

He eagerly picked up the lighter and kissed its lid numerous times. "Oh baby! I missed you so much! I promise I won't let that evil woman take you again! You almost got hurt by the van because of her." He suddenly stopped at mid-kiss from the lid and turned to look at me again. "About that. Why do you think you might've ruined it with Cullen?"

I tried to wave it off, but it was one mistake that a hunter shouldnt make. "I might've done something idiotic." I mumbled slightly towards the door.

Erik raised an eyebrow at me, waiting. "Like?"

I gasped at the sudden reminder of what I saw came rushing back to me. The van, Edward, the vampire watching me. "I think it was James who caused the wreck!"They all jumped at my outburst and stood at the shock of what was said.

"The vampire?" Mary whispered, "He was at the school?"

I quickly shook my head. "Not at the school, just near it. By woods."

Mark eyed me closely. "How do you know he was there?"

"I saw him, before Edward saved me. He saw him, too. He doesnt want to admit it it to me," I added quickly, ",but he did."

Erik finally spoke up. "Is that why you think you ruined it? 'Cuz you mentioned it to him?" I nodded.

"Well what do you expect!" He exclaimed, waving his hands up and about. "You practically just revealed to him that we know!"

Mary rolled her eyes at him. "Don't be so over-dramatic, Erik. To Edward, its an off chance that we- mere humans- know that he's a vampire. There's still a chance we might get his help." My eyes widen at her statement. Had she finally come to terms on what I have to do? Mary, as if sensing my shock, shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, Isabella, I'm still very upset about it."

I gave a heavy sigh when she used my full name. I knew it was too good to be true. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."Suddenly, the pain in my head came back and it hurt worst than before. Like needles and pens being jabbed at the side of my brain.

"Bella?" Marks voice laced concern, but I could hardly hear him. The pain in my head took away all of my attention from everything else. "Bella, What's happening? What's wrong?"

I took hold of his arm as if it would help the pain lessen even a little. "Just-" I tried to speak. "Just bring me some pain killers or something."

"Erik. Go." Mark ordered as he tried to pushed me down onto my back. "I'll stay and try to help her. Mary, get the adults."

Mary rushed through the door with Erik following not far behind her. Moments later, heavy footsteps came speed walking across the room towards me.

"Isabella."The female called weakly as she set something down beside me with a soft thud. The throbbing pain in my head was too distracting to answer her though, all I wanted was to crawl onto a cliff and jump off. That must be less painful than this, its got to be."Mark, whats wrong with her?"

"Im not sure," He whispered, "It must be from her injury earlier today."

"Pass me the latex gloves from the box." I heard her say weaker than before, as if that simple sentence took great effort on her part.

Fingers probed at my head until it reached the spot that hit against the pavement.I hissed. "Dont!"

"Someone call for pills?" Erik's voice called from the doorway, coming closer only to give the tablets to the shoved them into my mouth and I swallowed, eager to cease the pain. Dispite my hopes, the pain killers did nothing to numb the headache.

"What do we do now, ma'am?" Mary's careful voice called from somewhere away from me. "Do we call the doctor that treated her?"

"No," the Female snapped. "A normal Doctor cant come anywhere near her. Its too dangerous for him and our cover." I felt her leave my side "Erik, carry her to the bed."She instructed, sounding like she got more of her energy back. "All we can do now is make her comfortable and wait for the pain killers to kick in, it might just be a delay. Meanwhile put a damp cloth on her."

"Yes, ma'am" Erik sighed. I felt the floor disappear from beneath me moments later, the sudden moments making my head spin even more. I only managed a weak, painful moan in responce.

"Jesus woman," Erik chuckled in my ear, "Loose some weight. I know Im strong but lets not test the boundries shall we?"Too weak to defend my self esteem, I let him have this round, but the moment I loose this killer headache, he's going to fall victim of his own inner head pains.

He laid me down on the bed with a gentleness I didnt know he could posses. "I'll go get the cloth for this chick." And his heavy footsteps left the room.

Slowly, as to not send the feeling of twenty-five more knives in my brain- I took a peek around the room. Mary and Mark stood on either side of the room, looking as awkward as a lion and a moose. How I came up with that simile I have no idea.

"No school for me tomorow then, huh?" I joked only to wince at the volume of my voice. "And I was so looking forward to poeple fake caring."

"Dont worry," Mark smiled at me as he made his way over to the bed. "Thats why Erik is here."

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><p>I was feeling better the next day, and by better I mean able to stand without having my head spin out of control. It was a lonesome day though; what with the others at school and the adults off at La push to investigate the disappearances-it was just me, myself and I. The gray clouds treating me with rain pouring outside my window made that thought a bit more depressing than it should have.<p>

The silence inside the house wasn't as eerie as one would think. Of course, considering the fact that even with people inside it we weren't allowed the benefits that came with "freedom of speech". So, this house was usually filled with unusual silence anyway.

Mark put me in strict bed-rest orders that were established after a good fit from yours truly. He didn't take my word when I assured him I was feeling well enough to grab myself a cold class of water, putting a pitcher and a cup on the floor next to my bed should I get thirsty. Mark even gave me a few items to distract myself with whenever I wanted to do something(which just included a pen, pencil, paper and a laptop). The gloves literally came off when we discussed what I should do when I needed to use the restroom. I'll just say I was _not_ going to get a second pitcher.

Now, I was currently left lying on the bed and looking at the ceiling like the boring hunter I am today. It was making me go insane.

"Well, that was…unproductive." I told myself as I looked down at the paper of I was writing on. After staring at the ceiling didn't help cease giving me a sense of fun I turned to the paper and pencil that Mark left me among the other items. So far, all I managed to do was waste a good half hour trying to draw people at the beach. Half way through that, I gave up trying to be a professional and just drew stick people with a lame excuse for a beach ball floating aimlessly in the air.

My hands crumbled the paper and threw it at the corner of the room. Cautiously, I sat upright on the bed, grabbing another paper from the stack and the Female's Laptop. "Okay, forget my day off." I grumbled, pushing the power button. "Time to do some hunter work."

Mark and Erik were usually the computer geeks but since they're not here, I'll have to improvise. I started off with the obvious, typing in 'vampire legends' into the server. Hundreds links appeared on the screen and I clicked on the first one since it said 'library facts' on the bottom of it. My choice was immediately regretted as a website with a crimson red background appeared and black letters written all over it. Seemed like the obvious thing that would show. Hello, it's supposed to be vampire themed.

Nonetheless, I looked through what it had to show, which wasn't much. A couple stories about a vampire sent across a lake, and so on so forth. Once the bottom of the page came up, the label 'vampire characteristics' caught my eye. Again, most of what was listed was false only for two; the paleness of the skin, and being decapitated and burnt. Mark wasn't so far from the truth after all. The more I looked into the process of killing a vampire, the more I noticed each website had a common choice.

The decapitation of the head and the burning of the body.

Apparently, cutting off the head slows the healing process which is what's needed to make sure the vampire burns into a crisp and doesn't escape within enough time to heal into a beautiful monster once more.

Suddenly, I was grateful that the others weren't here to see the grimace that appeared on my face. Yes, it was the right thing to do, but that didn't stop me from feeling slightly guilty in having to decapitate Edward and his family. Not so much the blond girl but still.

The sound of the front door slamming shut broke me out of my thoughts. It should be the adults back from the trip to La Push. I must've been deep in thought if I missed the sound of their car coming up the drive way.

I gently pushed the computer off my lap and somewhat shoved my legs over the side of the bed. My head was still getting a little dizzy by simple movements so I had to wait a little before the room stopped playing Ring- Around-The- Rosie.

None of the lights were turned on as I made my way to the Adult's room. They must be really tired from their time working, making me question if I should bother them with my new found discoveries.

I stopped in front of their wooden door, undecided. After two minutes of mentally writing out the pros and cons, it was a no. They're tired, better safe than sorry right?

My stomach involuntary growled, because ironically the one thing Mark forgot to remember was that even if we don't have to eat often (our stomach has grown used to the small amounts of food we used to get in Division) we still got to eat. Needless to say, there was no pitcher of food next to my bed either. Well, now that I was up, might as well get something out of it.

My feet shuffled their way to the kitchen, eager to find the goods that shall soon be inside my awaiting tummy. The lights were off there too, and after glancing at the table I realized the car keys weren't set on top of it, where I've grown accustomed to the Adults always putting them.

My suspicion increasing by the minute, I grabbed a knife out of the drawer and held it with an iron grip. I was too into hunter-mode to shut it. I looked out through the kitchen window and was unhappy to see the Adults Car not here.

"What the…" I whispered.

There was a sound behind me and I wasted no time in throwing the knife towards it. It was a rather expert-like throw, but it did nothing to harm the culprit.

"That's no way of greeting your guests." James chastised, tapping the knife I had against his cheek before bending it in a not so pretty manner. "Isn't your Aunt Sarah teaching you some manners? Or your Uncle Michael?"

"How did you get in here?" I growled, taking a step away from him. No need to be closer to a bloodsucking demon than necessary.

His smile vanished as his crimson red eyes faked sadness. "I must say I'm disappointed once again. Why must you underestimate me so?" He looked at me rather expectant, and then sighed when he saw I wasn't going to answer. "Very well," He said, placing the now useless knife down on the table. "I came in through the front door. I thought about knocking but then thought: 'Why not give her a pleasant surprise!' " He gave me a wicked smile, one that showed all of his perfect white teeth even through the dim lighting. "Surprise."

"Where's Anna?" I demanded. The last forward encounter ended in her disappearance by his hand. "Where is she?"

He ignored me and pulled out a chair, sitting down while he gestured the space in front of him. "Sit. Let's chat." He smiled, saying the words like we were the best of friends. "Isn't that what humans do in this generation?"

"Listen you bloodsucking creep," I managed to growl through my rage. "I'm not playing any games with you. Tell me where the hell is Anna or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" James countered, red eyes gleaming with curiosity, "Touch me? It didn't work last time, what makes you think it'll work now?"

"I'm getting better at it," I lied, hoping he'd take me seriously. "I've been practicing and I know how to trigger-"

He threw his head back and laughed, "Oh, no you haven't sweetie. I've been watching you hunters, or rather you, and I know that what you're telling me isn't true."

"So now you're stalking me?" I narrowed my eyes at him as I held back a shudder that dared run through my back. The thought of having this thing following me around was unnerving.

"Me?" He pointed at himself as if offended by my accusation. "No. Stalking is what your friend is doing. What's his name again?" He tapped his chin, faking thought. "Eddy? No. Edmund? Close. Ah yes!" James smiled. "Edward."

My eyes widened in shock. "What are you talking about."

"Whenever I came to make my _observations_ about you," James emphasized the word to prove a point. "I was always nearby, looking through those bushes," he gestured somewhere out the window. "I made sure to keep my distance around him every time he was close. I must say, it's an awful thing you're doing. Using him, I mean."

"How did you-?"

He slammed his fist on the table, nearly breaking it in half. "Honestly, don't you listen to anything I'm saying?"James took a breath and calmed down a little, but his eyes turned a darker shade of red. "Well, this brings me to the original cause of my visit."

"You mean you didn't really come for small talk?" I said, bitter sarcasm dripping off my voice.

"Maybe some other time," he smirked, wiping a piece of stray blond hair. "But now, its about your dear friend Anna."

"Oh so now you want to talk."

He growled. "Dont push my patience, hunter."

My head began to spin at the sound but James must've taken my sudden loss of balance as fear.

"I'm not here to hurt you." He said and chuckled at my disbelieving face. "Really. If you don't trust me then here-"He went over to the opened drawer at a blurring speed and picked up a knife. I instinctively tensed as moments later he was right in front of me. "Take it." He ordered, grabbing my hand and curling my fingers around it when I made no move to grab it. His hands were ice cold that I had to refrain yet another shudder. "Now, don't you feel better?"

"I'd feel a hell of a lot better if you weren't inside the house." I told him with a glare.

"Yes, well, we all don't always get what we want now do we?" he chuckled as he took a few steps back. "Now back to your friend; I want to make a deal-"

"We don't make deals with monsters. We just kill them."

He ignored my comment. "My coven and I have run into a problem. Seems this other coven don't like it when other vampires stop by to get food here." I mentally gagged at the mention of their diet. "You might know them as the Cullen's."

"I don't see where you're going with this." I sighed impatiently. "Just get over it and move somewhere else."

"We don't take orders kindly." He glowered, "And there are seven of them but three of us."

"Please get to the point." I gestured towards him with the knife he gave me.

He walked towards me slowly, the chain he had hooked to his ripped jeans bounced with an unsettling rattling noise. "It'll be easier to destroy them if we knew their…" he stopped, looking for the right word. "…weaknesses. That's where you come in."

"We're not going-"I started but was stopped by his growling.

"I'm not _asking_ for a 'we', I'm _ordering_ _you _and just you_._ " James verified. "Find out what those weaknesses are and report to me."

"And if I don't? If I refuse?"

"Then your friend dies." He shrugged, as if the thought was no problem. To his kind it probably wasn't. "Think about it." He suggested, picking into his pockets for something. "Maybe this will help the choice be easier to pick." He tossed something at me; it was silver and round- a blank C.D. "I'll be in the woods tomorrow at eight. Tell me what you decide by then, or I'll just assume your choice and Anna won't have a drop of blood left." James made his way to the front door before stopping abruptly and turned to look at me. "Tell no one of our little deal. I'll know if you did."

And suddenly I was by myself in the kitchen.

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><p><strong> please review! Next chapter will be up sunday.<strong>

**~AmericasAngel **


	15. More vamps and Spaghetti

**I know I know, Im early! Yeeuh! :) First time in a while,right? Told you I was back. Disclaimer:I dont own twilight**

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><p>Chapter 14<p>

Ignoring the sudden pain in my head, I rushed to the room and stuck the cd into the laptop. My thoughts were running wild as I imagined what James had burned into it. I tapped my fingers impatiently as I waited for whatever was on it to play onto the screen.

My breath hitched with anxiety as the screen went black and a video began to play. At first the image wasn't clear, but moments later the camera focused onto its surroundings.

All that showed was the woods, my guess here in Forks, and the sound of a man breathing the amount of light given it was night out and gave the illusion of the trees going on for miles and miles.

"How much farther?" The man asked in a gruffy, shaky voice as the camera and the flash light he carried shook rapidly in his careless hands.

"Not much," James voice, coated with fake kindness, came through the speakers. "Watch your step, there a lot of holes and sharp rocks. We don't need a bleeder on our hands now do we?"

Again, the mention of blood made me gag especially when it's coming from a vampire.

The man gave a nervous laugh and I wondered for a second if he had a clue that he was side by side with a soulless monster. Or even, if he was a monster himself.

I didn't get to think much into the answer before my focus was pulled toward something else that came to view.

It was a girl around my age with dark hair that went passed her shoulders and hands that were tied up around the trunk of a massive tree. The camera couldnt process more than that, the small amount of light given darkened the girls face completely. It was only because of the small whimper the girl gave when she noticed the men that I realized who it was.

Anna.

James appeared in a flash next to her and looked up to the camera. For a moment it felt like he was really staring at me and not some video recorder. In the backround, the man gave a small gasp.

"Here we are." James breathed, giving that infamous wicked grin. He roughly grabbed Anna's chin, moving it so she was now looking up to the camera. "Say 'hi' to Bella, Anna." He cooed, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

Anna janked her face free and took the chance to spit onto James. I gave a small smirk at that. Lets face it, the vampire deserved it. The man dropped the flashlight with a scared gasp at the sound of James's angry growl and had it land in an angel that allowed me to have a better view of a Anna's face. Now I wished the man had the guts to at least have better hold of his equipment.

There was bruise forming at the corner of her head and a deep gash running from her forehead down to the edge of her nose, leaving me to wonder how James could resist not drinking her right then and there. Dont get me wrong, Im greatful he held back; I didnt need a D.V.D of my friends murder on my hands.

"Pretty and fiesty." James repeated the same words he told me during our first brief encounter. "But dont get too comfortable, hunter, I have a very short temper." He suddenly looked off to the distance, his now coal black eyes searching the area, before turning back to Anna smiling. "Nice try." He complemented, "But you have to try harder than weak vampire footsteps noise to fool me."

"I didnt think I had to try too much when it involves the mind of a brainless predetor." She snapped back, giving him the full on Anna's-going-to-kill-you- Glare. "The only thing that was hightened was your senses, not your intellegence."

James hit her with something, knocking her unconsciouse, and was at her throat as he ran his nose up and down. "I'm awfully thirsty, Bella." He sang, faking a distressed look. "And she smells so good, has that hunter scent in her. So tempting. I suppose I could get another meal long enough to await your answer towards our deal." He breathed in deeply, "But I doubt that'll satisfy my hunger for a long enough."

The camera shook once again as the man proccessed James words. Yeah, the man had little clue as to what James was.

"Eight o'clock." His tone gave a finality, silently daring me to wait a minute after.

"Is that all you needed me for?" The man's voice rang with fear.

James looked past the camera with an evil glint in his eyes. "Not just yet."

I quickly shut the laptop, fast enough to not see anything, but slow enough to still here the bloody scream that coursed through the man's body as James went in for the kill. That alone was enough for me to make my decision and make me feel slightly dirty about it. It wasnt the thought of Edward and his family being destroyed-that was going to happen either way-no, it was the idea of helping such a monster in the act.

The sound of the front door shutting made me jump and tense on the spot, thinking it was James back to give another threat, but that thought soon vanished when I heard a voice I've never been so happy to hear.

"Yo! What happened to the doorknob!" Erik's voice rang through the house loud enough that it felt like he was right here in this room.

Confused by his question, I made my way to him and the others. They all surrounded the door with the same look I had.

"Isabella? Care to explain?" Mary gestured towards the door, eyes expecant.

I peered around her arm and was shocked to find a hole where the doorknob should be, and the doorknob itself bent and broken on the floor beside the door. It must've been James doing.

"We had a break-in." I stated simply.

"Yeah," Erik snorted, "No, kidding. Look at it! The boor doorknob looks like nothing but a ball of metal that should be somewhere in that god awful truck of ours."

"Who was it?" Mark asked, studying the mangled doorknob.

"James." I sighed.

There was no mistaking the look of pure shock on all of their faces, silent questions covering all of them.

"Please tell me you fought him." Erik begged. "Or at least kicked him in the crotch."

I couldnt tell them what really happened. Every other excuse lead me in having to tell them the deal. So instead I lied with the most reasonable explaination. "Yeah, I fought him. Didnt work out to well." I pointed at the disfigured knife that I forgot to remove from the table.

Erik went to pick it up. "Damn." He whistled, throwing it in the air before throwing it away. "Them vamps got muscle."

"Yeah, well," I shrugged and looked at my watch, no clue what to say or do. "How was school? And why did you guys get here so late? Its nearly an hour after school lets out."

Mary beamed at the question. "Jessica and Lauren invited me to seattle to do some shopping with them tomorow after school. And guess what? They invited you to come, too. They thought that its would do you some good after almost getting hit by a car."

Erik nudged a thumb at Mary's direction. "This one couldnt stop chattering with those two girls, if you havent figured already."

"Gee, thanks." I muttered as I went to the counter to get some pills. The slight head ache was still making its special appearance. " But I'm going to have to decline the invitation."

"Oh no," She gave a short, humorless laugh. "You're coming. You are going minlge with these normal poeple if its the last thing you do!"

I squinted my eyes at the sudden loudness of her voice. "I'm not the best person to mingle with, Mary. Jessica and Lauren dont necessarily like me, if you havent noticed yet. "

"Sweetie, look at my face." Mary ordered kindly and I did in time to see her nice smile turn into a nonchalant frown. "Does it look like I care? You're coming. Think of it as a hunter job, go and see if their not the real monsters behind this whole ordeal." She waved her hands in the air, gesturing, my guess, at the house and case.

"Oh they are monsters," I clarified, "Just not the kind we hunt."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, you're coming."

I supressed a sigh, knowing it was no use to argue. "Fine."

"Where are 'mom' and 'dad'?" Erik asked, putting quotation marks around the words.

"They're down at La Push working."

There was a knock on the door.

"Are you guys expecting someone?" I asked, looking towards the door.

"No." Mark and Erik said in unison.

I gave a pointed look at Mary. She raised her palms up at me. "Hey, I know when my mingling skills should stop. Its not for me."

There was another knock. Erik made his way over to the window, pulling the curtain to the side to see who our guest was. I secretly hoped it wasnt James. Erik looked up at us with a confused look. "Its two of the Cullens." He said, like he couldnt believe that he was saying it.

"Which ones?" Mark asked, taking his side next to Erik.

"Edward Cullen and...gah!" Erik hit the side of his with his palm, aggrivated. "Whats her name? The miggit one?"

"I dont know, but I think we should open the door." Mary said, unsure, as there came another knock. "Go, Isabella."

I shot them a glare as I was pushed towards the door. Sure enough, Edward and the pixie haired girl stood at the other side. The girl smiled the moment I opened the door, and I saw she was carrying a plate covered in foil.

"Uh, hey?" I gave them a short two fingered wave, unsure of how I should greet them. "What are you doing here?" My question was directed at Edward. He was the last person I'd expect to come knocking at my door, ever since yesterday at the hospital I was pretty sure he'd try and keep his distance from me.

The girl's topaz eyes beamed at me. "We didnt see you at school today, we thought it had something to do with yesterday's accident so we came bringing food." She lifted up the plate wrapped in foil paper. "Its spaghetti."

"Smells good." I complemented, not wanting to be rude. "Would you like to come in?" I opened the door wider and stepped a side, giving them room to come in.

"That would be great, its chilly out here." She tugged the blue jacket she had tighter around her self. She handed me the plate as she shook my hand. "Im Alice by the way, Edward's sister."

I gave her a tight smile, ignoring how cold her hand felt. The hands of a vampire; it onlt served to help remind how alike she was to James. Edward didnt say hi as he made his wat to the kitchen, just gave a head bob like some douch guys do in the movies.

Alice greeted my 'cousins' with a warm smile, only to have it returned with a chorus of an awkward "Hey."

"Where's the rest of your family?" I asked as Alice took a seat on the chair James took the pleasure of seating earlier today.

Alice smiled. "Emmett and Rosalie had to run an errand. Jasper had to finish some history homework. Oh, how he loves his history." And laughed to herself, making it seem that I was missing some inside joke. She took a glance around the kitchen and nodded in approval. "Your house seems nice, its cute. Do you guys get alot of visiters?" Her tone seemed to imply something else, but I chose to ignore it.

Erik crossed his arms. "Not alot."

If Alice noticed the hostility in his voice, she didnt show it. I, on the other hand, gave him a look that clearly said, "Be nice, Or Ill take your lighter,dumbass."

Alice eyed the door knob on the floor. "What happened to your door?"

I laughed. "My aunt and uncle went to the store to get me more Tylonol and they locked themselves out. I was knocked out so I didnt here them knock. You can probably figure out the rest."

Alice laughed with me. "I hate when that happends to us. But we dont brake our door, we pick the lock."

"Ill tell them to do that next time."

There was an awkard silence that went around the room with none of us knowing what to say. I secretly hoped for a noise, any noise, that could brake the thick ice, but none came.

Alice suddenly jumped from her seat, eyes gleaming with an idea. "How about you give us a tour of the house! Im dying to see what the rest of it looks like."

"Alice." Edward argued, standing near the corner of the room.

"Yeah, its not the best time." I said, "We still have alot of stuff to unpack and the rest of the house is really messy."

"Oh." Alice pouted, before smiling once again. " Well maybe some other time."

"Alice, we have to go." Edward said, giving her a strange look. "Esme wouldnt want us to over stay our welcome."

Erik scoffed only to have Mark elbow his ribs.

Alice pouted once again. "But we havent even been here fifteen minutes!"

I almost wanted to laugh at her antics as Edward pulled her by the arm. "Good to know your feeling fine, Bella." He bowed his head at me. "I expect to see you tomorow at school?"

"You bet." I said, giving him two thumbs up. I waved at them as they walked out the door.

"It was nice meeting you, Bella!" Alice smiled once she stood next to their car.

I nodded. "Drive home safe."

My 'cousins' all stared out the window, waiting for the Cullen's to drive out of our driveway. Once they did, they all let out a sigh of relief.

"Did you guys practice that?" I asked them, refering the sigh. "It was like it was timed. Its creepy."

" 'Drive safe'?" Erik questioned, giving me a 'what the hell' look. "You do know they're vampires right? Or did you forget? I wouldve told them something along the lines of: 'I hope you step on the gas pedal so hard that you get wrapped around a tree!' and give them my award winning smile." To top it off, he flashed me an innocent smile that would make most girls swoon. It came in handy during jobs when we needed information. Right now, its just annoying.

"Yeah, I also remember something called manners. I know its a foreign word for you but you should try using it sometimes. It helps increase one's vocabulary."

Erik took a seat at the table, grabbing the plate of spaghetti. " The only time its not in my vocabulary is when it involves monsters. Bloodsuckers in this case." He took the foil off and poked at the meatballs. "I bet she poisened it."

"Really?" I asked, faking fear. "You should try some just to make sure. I'll get the fork."

Mark stared intently at the plate, before getting four forks from the drawer next to the fridge. "Not poisened. Dig in."

Of course, Mark was the first one to eat a forkful, but after Erik was convinced there was no rat poisen on it he started eating that plate like an animal. Mary wasnt too far behind. I just stood there like an idiot, watching my fellow hunters devour the spaghetti like their lives depended on it.

"That plate was supposed to be for me!" I complained after all the spaghettie had gone.

"Thats why I grabbed you a fork." Mark sighed, rubbing his stomach with a satisfied smile. "Whether you decided to use it or not was not my problem."

I gave all three if them an angry look. "When I said 'that plate was for me', it meant ONLY me and not my starved cousins."

"Details." Erik dismissed with a wave of his hand.

I opened my mouth to argue but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and slamming.

All three of them stood from their chair, Erik quickly threw the empty plate into the trash as Mark and Mary cleaned any trace of my stolen dinner off the table.

"Isabella, I hope youre feeling better." The male said curtly, "Cause we need all of you to come down to La Push with us."

None of us questioned what was happening, something you learn to do when dealing with the adults, and grabbed our coats and headed to the female zoomed out of the drive way before we could even close the car door, only to step on the gas even more as we drove through the already narrow streets.

"It'd be nice to know why you're risking the chance of getting out of this car alive."Erik said, an undertone of impatience in his voice.

"We gave some of the evidence to one of Division's historians, "The male started, "They did some research about the La Push reservation and have discovered some legends about the Quileute Tribe. They were decendant from wolves."

"Like _'wolves' _wolves?" I laughed. Turns out my original idea wasnt too far from the truth. "So we're dealing with werewolves?"

The male nodded. "Seems like it."

"Yeah,"Erik agreed, eyes widening like he just made a giant discovery." That explains the why she saw a man then...something else. As big as a horse she said, right?"

"How are we going to deal with this?" Mary asked, scraping her hair back into a ponytail. The male threw a black duffel bag towards her and Mary sighed as she pulled out a silver gun. "SilverBullets?"

"Silverbullets." The female comfirmed.

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><p><strong>Poor ignorant adults! Silverbullet wont work, right guys? Please review!<strong>

**Next update will be Sunday, July 8th :)**

**~AmericasAngel**


	16. Alliance

**ITS STILL SUNDAY! I know its a little late in the day but I had to finish it before I convinced myself another day would do you no harm.! Read on!**

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><p>Chapter Fifteen<p>

We all took hold of our own gun as we continued our way to La push. Immediately, a cocky smile took place on Erik's face and I had to refrain myself from slapping the crap out of him. How he can find pleasure in killing, I will never know.

Ever since I can remember, all we've been taught at Division was how to shoot a gun, throw a knife, a punch or control our abilities. I, more than willing, learned all that for the mere reason of surviving. The other Cadets, as we were called, usually fought each other for pride, anger, or plain insanity. Some have even picked fights with me once or twice; I won just as many times as I've lost- the ability to cause pain was a huge advantage on my part. All the Cadets knew what I could do and that was the main reason for them wanting to take me down. The chance to brag about the defeat of she who could make anyone and anything shrivel in pain by a single touch was very tempting to most. (Granted, my reputation hangs by a thread now that I'm dealing with vampires.)

Even so, I never understood the adrenaline they got, the pleasure of taking down someone different than them. Well, that's not entirely true, the only time the adrenaline kicks in is during a fight with a monster like James, when I know what type of monster-not by nature but by choice- they are. Even then, it has to be a pretty tough fight for me to not feel a thing when I end its life.

Maybe it's just the thought of stooping down to their level, the thought of causing a death when I have no right to decide who lives and who dies.

The car came to a jerking stop, breaking me from my thoughts and causing the gun I had in my hands to fly out of them and bump against the back of the Male's seat, landing just by my feet.

"If it's another God Damn bunny…"Erik grumbles beneath his breath, gripping on to the arm of the seat to keep himself from slipping off.

I looked out the window, searching for what could have made the Female to act so rash, but all I saw was the usual green trees and bushes at the side of the rode. I picked up the gun from the car floor and thanked my lucky stars that I left the safe on.

"The bag." The Female ordered with her arm bending towards us in an uncomfortable manner. Mark passed the bag to her and she wasted no time in rummaging through the weapons, smirking when she found what she was looking for. A silver knife.

"I'm guessing we're near La Push?" Mary mumbled beside me, eyeing the weapon the Female held in her hands.

All I could do was nod as I held my gun securely at my side. My eyes shifted back to the window; the werewolves must be around here somewhere.

"Observe. Keep your eyes open." The Female reminded us, getting out of the car. The Male followed suit not a few moments later.

"Alright." Mary sighed, urging me to open the door. "What are you waiting for? The wolves to come here and give you an invitation?"

"No." I said, finally getting out of the car. "Jessie and Laura already did that for them."

"Jessica and Lauren." She corrected then glanced at my outfit. "They can help find you something other than those hideous long-sleeves of yours. I mean, black? Seriously? At least choose something in style."

I rolled my eyes at her. The combination of Jessica, Lauren and those out-of-date magazines from the motels we've stayed at have obviously done their number on her.

"Werewolves now, "I sighed as I took off my gloves, "My obvious lack of style later."

Mark and Erik had taken their positions next to us each of them with their own gun in hand.

As soon as we were all prepared for a possible fight with giant dogs, we ditched the car at the side of the rode and followed the Adults into the woods with our guns pointed.

Besides the fact of crunching leaves beneath our feet, there was no other sound that hinted to anything supernatural to be woods were so empty that I think not even Mark picked up on anything, but we kept on walking.

Suddenly, something brown passed through the trees in the distance. For a moment, I thought it was a vampire but what we saw was too large and not-pale to resemble anything near a one.

"Show time." Erik smiled, clicking the safety off the gun.

We took off towards its direction, each heading at a different angel in hopes to surround it. By the time we reached the area, there was no animal in sight. The only indication was the soft prints that were left in the soggy mud. Shockingly enough, it was probably bigger than my hand. Definitely something not human.

"What the hell?" Erik murmured, looking at the oversized paw print. "That thing was fast!

There was a growl from behind us and suddenly I was on the ground with a wolf with russet brown fur on top of me, its paws pressing on either side of my arms. The gun had fallen out of my grasp and out of my reach, leaving me practically defenseless against the wolf that was now growling in my face. The amount of pressure it was putting on my arms was unbearably painful. I couldn't make a move with my hands and the sweater wasn't exactly on my side today.

"Get your paws off of me." I sneered at it, kneeing the beast in the stomach. It gave a small whimper but it didn't move from on top of me.

There was a sound of a gun going off, the silver bullet grazed past the wolf's shoulder and into a tree. It gave another more pronounced whimper but the thing wouldn't budge.

"Who the hell missed this thing?" I cried out, angry. I turned my head and got a weird upside down view of Mark being pinned down into the same position as by a gray wolf.

Erik quickly grabbed his lighter and snapped it open, immediately having a round blue ball of flame floating over his hand. I shielded my eyes in time before Erik throw the golf of fire my way. I didn't get to see if he hit his target as my focus was on the many other wolves that surrounded the other hunters and me.

The weight on my arms was gone and I wasted no time in getting on my feet and grabbing the gun.

"The pack…" Mary breathed, astounded. She held the gun more tightly, her hands glowing slightly red, the color contrasting against her dark skin.

We unconsciously huddle closer together with our back to each other as to get a better view of the wolves around us.

One of the wolves with black fur turned and ran to the bushes, moments later coming back as a man, a naked one at that. From what I was willing to see, I recognized him as one of the guys that would stare at us every time we would go down to La Push Beach. He was tall and muscular, like all the other ones. And like all the other ones, he was dark with an even darker symbol on top of his shoulder. He must be the Alpha.

"What is your business here?" He demanded, his eyes shifting from our guns to second fireball in Erik's hands. "You disturb the reservation with your questions, now you trespass out territory with weapons and…"He eyed Erik with a look of uncertainty. "…magic."

"Thanks for the complement, bro."Erik smirked, bouncing the fire on the air.

"We know you've been taking and killing innocents." The female stated as she held her knife in front her. "We've simply been ordered to dispose of the threat."

He looked confused. "Killing innocents?"

"Please," Erik scoffed, "Acting dumb won't help. We saw the claw marks on the tree. We have witnesses saying they saw a guy before seeing an animal. Sound like a certain mythical creature you know?"

One wolf growled at Erik's accusation. It made a move towards him but was stopped by the man. "Paul, relax." He said before turning back to us with a look of offense. "We protect humans, not harm them."

"Protect? Well marvelous job you're doing." Erik joked.

The wolf, whom I now know as Paul, gave a grunt before rushing off to the bushes like the Alpha did and come out in Human form. At least he had the decency of putting some cut off shorts on.

"It's not easy catching vampires, Fire boy." Paul sneered.

All of us, with the exception of Erik who threaten to torch Paul into a hotdog, tensed at the mention of vampires. So we weren't the only ones hunting these things down. Perfect.

The Female rested the knife at her side as she took immediate interest towards what Paul said. "Vampires? Is it the Cullen Coven?"

The alpha looked at her with suspicious eyes. "You know about the Cullen's?"

"They're our other job." She shrugged. "We have to know about them-vampires in general."

Paul was reluctant to believe her so easily. "Job?" He chuckled. "So you kill supernatural creatures for a living? How much you get paid?"

"We don't do it for money." Mark interjected, disgusted with the idea of such a thing. "We, like you, protect humans incapable of doing it themselves. They're safety is our payment."

Erik rolled his eyes at Mark's cliché speech. Knowing him, if he had a say on how we work, a good two hundred dollars a week would make him more than happy. Mary, of course, wouldn't feel so bad if she got a few clothes in return. As for me, I do this cause it's the only thing I know. Our memories were destroyed and infected with what we know today.

"Okay." Paul sighed, crossing his hands over his muscular chest. It must run in the werewolf genes. "Say you really are doing whatever it is you're doing. Why haven't you gotten rid of the bloodsuckers yet? Why are they still alive?" He stopped, for a moment before smiling. "Well, as alive as the undead can be."

"Like you said," Mark reminded, "it's not easy catching vampires."

Paul's grin grew wider, if possible, as he got an idea. "What if we help?"

The alpha didn't look too happy. "Paul, this isn't-"

"C'mon Sam," Paul pleaded, "Think about it. The Cullen's, they are bound to slip up. It's inevitable, they are vampires-"Paul's voice turned dark, his obvious hatred for them easily showing. "-it's in their nature. We would just be stopping it before it happens."

"The treaty, Paul," the alpha, Sam, reminded with eviction in his voice. "Remember the treaty. We cant harm them."

Mark decided to but in. "There not the only one around here." He said, turning to the Female. "The other vampire's harrassing us, the ones that have Anna. We could really use their help. If what they say is true, and their not the bad guys, there should be no problem in having extra hands." I took in a shaky breath at the mention of James and his coven. The video he gave me was still imprinted into my head like a stamp.

"Or paws." Erik smiled.

"Other vampires?" Sam asked, ignoring Eriks comments as everyone else seems to be doing. "What do they look like?"

The others looked at me to answer that question. Having been the only one those other vampires seemed attached to, I'm more than familiar with they looked like.

"One was a red eyed blond man with a red haired woman."I answered as the scene in the woods appeared in my mind. The time they took Anna, the red headed girl wanted to kill me in that moment. Her crimson eyes that was slightly redder than that of her hair still sent a little chill down my spine. There was a look of displeasure on Sam's face as he took in my discription. "You know them?"

"Not the the man vampire." Sam sighed. "She's the one thats causing all these disappearnces. We've been trying to catch her but its nearly impossible. Its as if she knows we're coming and makes a quick get away."

I pressed my lips into a tight line as he said that. It certaintly didnt help the situation Im in. And here I thought that maybe these wolves would give a small pep talk."Well thats nice to know."

"Will you help us?" The Female asked. No one failed to notice the small grunt the Male gave. Obviously he didnt think it was the best idea.

Sam looked around to the his pack as the wolves lifted their snouts in approval. "We could use the extra help as it looks like you have some abilities." Sam eyed Erik with some sort of discomfort, before shifting towards the guns. "Even if you did try to shoot us."

"And Mark would've hit you're furry friend with the silver bullet if it wasnt for that other guy."Erik chuckled, looking around the pack. "Which one was it by the way. They all look the same to me."

"Jacob was the one that attacked the girl." He gestured towards the chocolate brown wolf. "Seth jumped on...Mark. He's the one with grey fur."

"Jacob?" I asked, "Jacob Black?" The chocolate brown wolf nudged its snout as a yes before going to the bushes to morf back into human form. As expected, it was the same Jacob Black that greeted me at La Push in the same type of cut off shorts that Paul wore. He was attractive, of course the wolf genes made him that way, enhancing his muscles and all. But not my type, whatever that was.

"Did you're friend say silver bullets?" Jacob raised a brow at me.

"Erik. "I informed him. "And yeah, he did."

He threw his head back and laugh, his broad tan shoulders bounced in a way that reminded me of James but the way Jacob did it, it wasnt threatning at all instead it was rather friendly. "I know we form into wolves," He said between chuckles. "But silver bullets dont work on us."

My eyes widened. "They dont?"

He struggled to catch his breath as he shook his head. "They do as much harm to us as normal bullets."

"At least they do harm." I shrugged, masking my embarrasment. "I can still use them on you if you every jump on top of me like that again."

"Oh darn." He faked disappointment, "I really wanted to try that again."

I chuckled at him before turning back to Sam. I was really glad that he agreed to help us. Now, I wouldnt have to work for James or at least, I wouldnt have to do it for a long time. These wolves seem to know how to deal with vampires and I could just stall James and fake that I cant get anything out of Edward and his Family. That way, I dont help a monster with killing and keep Anna alive long enough to kill James."So we're working together on this?"

"Seems like it." Sam nodded.

"Well if thats so I suppose an introduction is in order."The female stated. For a moment I thought she was going to use her real name, but I knew her better. She didnt completely trust them. "I'm Sarah and this is Micheal." She gestured towards all of us. "This is Isabella, Erik, Mary, and Mark. One is missing, being held hostage by one of the vampires. Her name's Anna."

"Im Sam," He started before pointing down the line of wolves. " Jared, Leah, Embry, Quil, Seth, and of course Paul and Jacob." Each wolf grunted at the sound of their names, but there was so many I doubt Id remember most of them. I'll just call them by their fur color.

"Shall we talk strageties?" Mark suggested, walking towards Sam after putting away his gun on the back of his jeans.

Sam nodded and the wolves ran off, hopefully to transform back into human from so we can talk normaly and not through growls and grunts. Notice how I say talk normally when Im refering to the conversation of killing vampires in the middle of a forest.

Jacob made his way to stand beside me as the others started talking. "Isabella, huh?"

I gave him a tight smile at the sound of my ugly full name. "Yup, thats my name. Nice to know you remember it."

"I'll just call you Bella."He shrugged. There was a moment of silence between us, one that I couldnt decide whether it was the awkward kind or not. I didnt have to think much through it before he started talking again. "I had a friend named Isabella. She was such a guy sometimes. We made mud pies together when we were little."

"Really?" I asked, faking interest. "What happened?"

Suddenly his face became one of discomfort as his eyes held a form of sadness that I'd hardly seen in my time of hunting. "She disappeared when I was six." He finally said, "Her dad, Charlie, was so upset. They never found her."

"Im sorry." I didnt know what else to say. 'Im sorry' was the last thing I wanted to say but it seemed to be the only one for me. Like I said, I suck at small talk. Especially personal ones.

He shrugged. "Yeah. I went to their house all time, but it wasnt the same without a girl to throw mud at. Charlie moved away a couple of months after she disappeared. He couldnt handel the things that reminded him of her."

"Where did he move to?" This time I didnt have to fake interest, i was genuenly curious.

All I got was another shrug. "I dont know," he sighed. "I went to check up on the house once after he was gone and let me tell ya', it was so depressing. All that was left of them was the yellow kitchen, everything else was stripped away."

"Yellow kitchen?" Surely it was a coincidence, I thought, many houses are bound to have yellow kitchens. But just to make sure I asked, "Is the house a two story? A couple blocks away from Forks High?"

"Yeah," He said, "Thats the one. How did you know?"

I looked at him, a bit confused myself. "I think Im living in it."

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it! Next chapter will be up Sunday July 15th! Review!<strong>

**~AmericasAngel**


	17. Teenager in us

**Still Sunday! Late night posting will be a frequent thing! Soorry for the mistakes. Read on! I do not own twilight though I wish I did:)**

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><p>Chapter 16<p>

Jacob went on talking about his friend with the same name as me. I listened with open ears to every word he said; completely interested about the girl that used to live in the same house I'm residing in now. What can I say? I've always been curious about my current home's background.

Of course, he couldn't tell me much since his childhood memories were hazy, or so he said. All he did manage to remember of his best friend was that she was a major tom boy. She was never afraid of rolling around in the mud unlike his sister, Rebecca-if I remember correctly- who always ran inside after he and Bella started throwing mud around. I remember him laughing as he told me about the time she got herself in trouble when she walked into the house still covered in mud. Poor thing ran around the place oblivious of the mess she was leaving in her wake.

I was too entertained in talking with Jacob that I completely forgot that we were supposed to be planning James' and Victoria's capture. Luckily, neither the Adults nor other hunters noticed my lack of participation as they too were engrossed in their own ideas.

We left after the sky started to darken. The few minutes it took to reach the car were tense. We knew from past experience that whoever created the phrase _'the freaks come out at night'_ clearly knew what they were talking about. The few amount of lighting the clouds allowed the moon to give was enough to turn the trees into giants who claws reached out towards the heavens in silent praise.

As hunters, we didn't show our weariness towards our surroundings but held onto our guns. Even if they proved to be useless in fighting against Children of the Moon (Who I now doubt should be called as such) they still served to seriously maim an opponent. In this case, the opponents were the freaky looking trees.

We reached the rode where we were happy to find the car still in its place. It was without a scratch or evidence that anyone had gone through it; then again looks can be deceiving but we were too tired to give damn. Everyone knows that when you're tired you get moody and no one wants a moody person behind a loaded gun.

By the time we reached the house, all the neighbors had already turned off their porch lights leaving the only thing to light our way through the street to be our headlights.

The Adults must've been extremely exhausted to not notice that hole on the door where the doorknob should be. I was more than happy to wait till morning to tell them about James intrusion. Like I said, tired equals moody and that's bad when combined with a gun.

I went to school the next day. My head pains dissolved into nothing more than a slight pressure at the side of my head. One day of bed rest was enough to have me begging to go back to school, even if it did mean me 'mingle'- as Mary put it- with the girls who I've cussed out in my head more times than a drunken sailor on a bad day. Jessica and Lauren.

That's how I got here, sitting at a table that rested in the middle of the cafeteria when I was more than willing to have been sitting in a ditch. Mark and Erik were seated beside me equally as displeased with the seating arrangement though they tried their best not to show it.

"Can you shoot me?"

"I didn't bring my gun with me today remember? Sorry."Mark frowned as he turned to Erik.

The few people that heard him laughed at his 'joke' oblivious to the fact that he wasn't kidding. Mark complained about it the whole way to school and I was tempted to accidently press on the gas towards a tree. Yes, that one was in fact a joke. Sort of.

I glanced down at my tray of food. There was something that looked like spaghetti and macaroni mixed together with bits of chicken popping out, beside that a banana with blotches and some milk. I gave the tray a disgusted look before pushing it away from me. I was still a bit hungry since yesterday when James came but I was not, under any circumstances, going to eat this mix of vomit and food coloring.

James. He expected me to give him an answer today towards our deal. My hands clenched at the thought of working for him even if the wolves were going to help destroy him and his girlfriend.

Someone nudged my shoulder. Mark. "Are you alright?" he asked, searching my face before glancing down at my fisted hands. "Is it the headaches? Are they coming back?"

"No. It's the food." I lied smoothly. "Do the people here really expect the students to eat this?"

Mark looked at the rest of the table who were munching happily on what they consider a cafeteria meal. He gave me a smile. "I suppose so. They don't seem to mind though."

Erik peeked around Marks shoulder desperately. "Hey guys," He whispered, throwing a piece of his banana at us to insure our attention. "What are you guys talking about? Please tell me it's about getting is out of this place."

"Actually, Mark and I were discussing a plan to take down the Empire State building next Monday."

Erik's eyes widened. "You mean skip school? Don't be stupid! We have a test that day!" I knew he caught my bluff but he never missed a chance at being funny.

I heard Jessica, Lauren, and Mary talk about the trip to Port Angeles tonight and subconsciously shrank into my seat. _Please don't let them remember me_, I chanted in my head, _Please don't let them remember me. _

But I should've learned from movies that chanting never help in getting what you want. Not unless you threaten someone to give it to you, though I don't think that's going to go down well at the office.

Jessica, as expected, started calling to me from across the table. "Bella, you're coming with us to Port Angeles right?"

I looked up from the table, my eyes shifting from Jessica's expectant gaze, to Lauren's brown daggers, and finally onto Mary who was urging me with a jerk of her fork to answer yes.

I gave them a tight smile. "Of course, Jess. Port Angeles, woo."

"That's great," Lauren said, though by her tone I could tell she thought it was anything but. "We can finally get you something other than those sweaters of yours."

I glanced towards Mary at Lauren's silent insult. _So that's where she got that from,_ I thought, _no wonder; she hardly had any problem with my clothing before. _Mary only shrugged at me as if to say 'What? I told you so."

I tugged at my sleeves- a habit I've come to rely on whenever I feel uncomfortable- before looking back at Lauren. "I get cold easily," I explained, noticing how the table became rather silent.

Lauren gave an uncaring nod as she went back to eating. Some students gave a dissatisfied sigh at-my guess- the lack of 'drama' they hoped would go on between Lauren and I.

Erik sighed as he tossed around the contents on his tray. He kept looking at something across the cafeteria-something that really was bothering him.

I was shocked to find , as I followed his gaze,that it wasnt a _something _that was bothering him so much as it was a _someone._

A teenage girl sat at a table surrounded by her group of friends, two rather cute but nerdy looking guys and another girl with dark brown hair. The girl herself was rather pretty, if you liked the tall blond thing she had going on. Of course, she wasnt as pretty as the Cullen girl but still. Something one of the guys said appeared to be humorous as it made her throw her head back in laughter. She didnt _look_ mean or stuck up, but then again, I bet I didnt look like a hunter to all these poeple either.

"You would fall for a blond." I whispered towards Erik dispite the fact that I somewhat aproved of her. He dropped his fork in suprise once he understood what I meant. Now, he was glaring at me.

"I'm not _falling_ for anyone."His tone was harsh as he silently begged me to believe him. If it wasnt for the fact that Ive known Erik and his moods, I wouldve shrunk into my seat. But since I have known him for a good amount of time, I took joy in his anger.

"So you say," I whispered back to him, forgetting that Mark was in between is, "But you'vr been eyeing that girl for a good amount of time."

"Mind what is yours to mind, Isabella."

"But, you're my cousin," I faked innocence, "Im only looking out for you."

Erik glared down at his food, refusing to look at me. Mark looked from him to me, confused at both the conversation and the sudden hostility Erik was giving off in waves. I guess he knew I had something to do with it since he gave me a warning glance as if to say "_Watch it. Dont get the kid all steamed up."_

I sat back in my chair, more than bit annoyed. "I dont know what he gets all worked up for." I mumbled to no one in particular. "I think she looks like a pretty decent girl."

There was the sound was sound of a grunt. From the corner of my eye, Erik gets up with his tray a goes to dump it in the trash only coming back to retreive his belongings.

"Im heading to class." He informs as he shrugged on his black leather jacket.

"So early?" Mark asked, moments before Erik turned away, "We still have about twenty minutes left of lunch."

Erik glanced toward the girl across the cafeteria before looking back at Mark. Of course I chose not to call him out on it since he is apperantly sensitive on that.

His reply was a dry,"I need to get a good seat today." , before he walked away from the table. We were left staring at Erik's retreating.

There was an awkward silence that only Mark and I were aware of. Neither Mary nor the other student noticed Erik's little departure and I wasnt going to fill them in and by the looks of it, neither was Mark.

Mark set his elbows in the table, still more than a bit confused. "What just happened?"

I only shrugged as I looked around the cafeteria room. The amount of poeple here was uncanny and caused a buzz of sound to flow around, like a swarm of flies have taken territory here. Yet sill, among all these poeple lay only five vampires. They sat at the same table as before with numerous tables empty around them as if the humans knew what they were and knew to sit away. But they didnt.

We did.

Alice grinned at me as she gave me an enthusiastic wave. The blond girl turned away from her boyfriend as she curiously looked at what he 'sister' was waving at. If there was any kindness in her eyes before, it was immediately replaced -like a flipping card- into one of anger. She put Lauren's glare a run for her money. How beautiful golden eyes could be misused for hatred was beyond me. I would at least use them for good, charm my way to killing the not-so-metaphorical monster under your bed.

Jessica's voice brought be away fromt the blonds glare. "Is that Alice Cullen waving at you?" There was an undertone of jealousy I chose to ignore.

I refrained from rolling my eyes as I answered her. "Yes, it is. Good for you for noticing."

Mary suddenly went tense, her fork midway from stabbing a piece of vomit inducing meal.

Jessica leaned foward with a smile on her face. "Are you guys like friends now?"

Mary shook her head as Jessica wasnt looking, begging me to deny anything that was Alice Cullen.

I tugged at my sleeves at the sudden attention I was getting from the table. Even Angela, the shy girl with glasses, seemed a bit intruiged. "Not really." I said, not wanting to have Mary angry at me again. The unwanted emotion proved to be a disadvantage when working a case. She might willingly feed me to a windigo one of these days.

That answer didnt seem to be enough for Jessica as she continued to stare at me.

"She brought me food yesterday when she heard I wasnt feeling well." I explained, quickly adding "It was just a kind gesture, it doesnt mean we are friends."

Jessica didnt seem convinced. "But she's _Alice Cullen. _Her and her family dont talk to anyone but themselves! This is big." Most of the poeple at the table nodded along, agreeing with her statement.

"Her father was the one to attend me when I went to the hospital. I guess he just wanted to make sure I was fine and asked her and Edward to come check up on me."

There was a gasp that went around the table. "_Edward Cullen_ went to your house, too?"

_" _Well," Lauren gave a humorless laugh. "Aren't you special. Everyone wants to know the great Isabella Carter."

" I dont-" The bell cut me off mid-sentence as there were rushing teens everywhere. I took this as my chance to ditch the others before they can ask me anymore questions.

My plan seem to work out well; I was nearing the classroom by myself when Mary finally caught up with me. Mark was no where in sight.

"What the hell was that?" Mary seethed, lowering her voice so no one around us could hear her. "You and Alice Cullen. What did I tell you before?" She raked a hand through her dark hair. "Its bad enough that I have to deal with you talking to Edward. Dont push more than you need to."

I grabbed her arm. "Mary,calm down-" She yanked her arm away from me; my hands fell at my sides. "It's not like I asked Alice to wave at me. Its not my fault. Your making a big deal out of this."

"Please, Isabella."She snorted, "Give me a break."

"But I-"

Mary raised her hand up, a silent way of ordering me to stop. "Give. Me. A. Break." And she turned away from me and walked through the classroom. Just then Mark passed me only to give an apolegetic shrug. If only Anna was here, then I wouldnt feel like such a loser.

I was one of the last to walk in, Edward Cullen being among the group as well. He didnt greet me until he reached the desk and I was suddenly hyper aware of Jessica and Mary looking my way. Perfect.

"You seem upset." Edward observed as he opened the book to the page the teacher instructed. "Why?"

I didnt know whether I should answer him or not; apperantly even when Im not the one doing the talking-or waving- Im the still the one to blame. In the end I decided, _What the heck _and gave myself a mental shrug.

"Now your talkin to me?"I accused, remembering yesterday's encounter. "You didnt say much when you went over to the house. I see its Alice who has the manners in the family."

He didnt flinch at my slight insult but gave a small smile. He was amused. "I apologize for being rude. Its not everyday that I go over to someone elses home." Though he still wore that crooked smile, there was a sincerety in his voice that led me to believe he really was sorry.

"Yeah well,"I sighed as I gave him a tight smile, "Social skills isnt my expertise I do tend to say 'Hello.' when I enter someone's house." That wasnt a lie, as a hunter we go into poeple's houses all the time to investigate somethings. Amazing social skills just wasnt part of the Job discription. Not for me anyway.

"Why are you upset?" Edward asked, glancing up from the paper he was writting on. "You never answered my question."

I didnt bother turning my head as I answered him. "I didnt think it was any of your concern, Edward."

The few moments I looked at him, I saw a flash of hurt pass his eyes but it was gone before I got to say anything on it.

"I probably deserved that." He chuckled.

I had to restrain myself from saying: _'Your kind deserve that and so much more.'_ It wouldnt go over to well with keeping my cover, now would it? I just stuck with. "Yeah. You did."

"Alice seems to like you." He steered the topic away from being a rather unpleasent one. "She thinks you two would be best friends."

I didnt look up from the text book. "Does she?"

"Yes, she does. She's not to sure about your cousins though. Erik wasnt exacly kind to her yesterday."

I couldnt help but laugh at that. "She noticed that, huh? I guess I'll apologize on his behalf. He's..."I struggled to find the right words. "He's not exacly the smartest one of the bunch when it come to this."

He looked down towards his paper."I guess we both have someone to be upset with."

Cue guilty feeling coming through my guts. He seemed genially hurt by this and I still have that little voice in my head that tells me I should feel guilty. So I do.

"It seems that we do."I agreed, trying to play of the guilty feeling as nothing more than that. "We both are upset with Erik."

His eyes slightly widened in suprise before grinning. "You answered my question. This is progress."

I gave him a nervous laugh."I didnt know you were trying to make me answer your questions." It was supposed to be my job.

He only shrugged. "I wasn't, but its a bonus." He pushed his paper aside, finished with his work. "Now why are you upset with Erik."

"Cause he's a sensitive idiot."

He chuckled at that. "And why would that be?"

"I dont know." I sighed, setting my head in my hands. "Just cause I called him out on liking this girl, he took it offensive. Its not like I did it infront of everyone. Then he called me Isabella and-" I shuddered. "Ew."

"You dont like your name?" Edward asked, interested.

"_Isabella."_ I tested, shuddering once more. "Nope, makes me feel either a) Like Im in trouble- which I was- or b) old."

He looked down away from me for a moment. "Isabella. I think it suits you."

I couldnt help but look at him with a blank expression. "Did you just call me old?"

There was no trace of humor in his voice. "Isabella is italian for '_beautiful.' _"

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><p><strong>AWWWWWW, I just had to end it there! Next it Port Angeles and James:) Please review! They inspire me to write better and faster! Lets see if I can get like five reviews by friday! Ready! Set! Go!<strong>

**Next update: Sunday July 22 or Monday**

**Peace out! ~AmericasAngel**


	18. Secrets and Magic

**I said either sunday or today! So technally Im not late! But I did make this chapter 2000 words extra! so you have to give me credit! Read on! Sorry for mistakes! I do not own twilight!**

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><p>Chapter 17<p>

I had no response to Edward calling me beautiful. Should I take it take it seriously? Or just shrug it off as a guy thing? That decision would've been a whole lot easier if it was Mike Newton. I would've just made a run for it.

"Uh, thanks…Edward." I stuttered after a moment of silence. Suddenly, the questions on the text book became very interesting. "What's the answer for number five?

I could practically hear the frown in his voice. "That was a bit blunt of me. I'm sorry."

"Its fine," I assured, quick to the steer the conversation into another direction. "I just cant figure out the answer to question five."

"You can look at my paper if you'd like." He offered as he slid his work over to my side of the desk.

I took a quick glance at, not really taking a look at the paper since I didn't actually need help, and write down an answer.

He set his pale hands down on the table in front of him.

"Your cousin, Anna, still hasn't come back yet." Edward mentioned after a moment of silence. My answer was dry. "Her trip is taking longer than we originally thought."

"I see." Edward said, unsure of what to say. Luckily, he didn't exactly have the chance to say anything more since the bell rang a few moments after.

I quickly gathered my belongings as the students rushed out through the door, each of them setting their assignments down at the teachers desk.

Erik and Mary didn't bother wait for me as they were still upset after what I -without much effort - managed to apparently cross the line. Mark followed behind them after a second of thought, but not before giving me a small smile. He probably felt I needed reassurance from him.

I was a bit surprised to find Edward still in the room. I've grown used to the idea of him running off before anyone in the room could.

"Off to gym." I muttered as I threw a small wave towards Edward's direction.

I quickly set my paper on top of the others made my way out of the room. Half way through the door though, I was stopped by the sound of Edward calling my name.

"Bella?" His all too familiar velvet voice called, a hint of doubt in its tone. He looked confused for a second, as if wondering why he called me, but soon was replaced with something I couldn't pin point. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I am too." I smiled, a bit touched by his sincerity. I wasn't exactly used to people saying things like that, voicing the relief of me being okay. The closeness towards the other hunters and I only started when we got here to Forks, and even then we don't exactly tell each other how we feel.

Edward returned the smile with a smirk of his own before walking past me to his next class.

Once school was over, we immediately went to the car and rode home. Mary tried to talk to Jessica and Lauren about their plans to go to Port Angeles, (which much to my dismay was still on.) but Mark and Erik managed to pull her away.

Erik was ignoring me when he didn't find it in him to glare at my way every time I entered his line of sight. He was beginning to act the same way before we arrived at Forks, loathing and everything. Every now and then he'd throw me the finger, a gesture which I returned with one of my own. Other than that, I managed to show that I felt nothing at his hostility. Yeah, this was still during the same school day. Pretty interesting when you think about it.

When we reached the house we were greeted by the Adults at the door way. They wore identical masks of impatience as the Female held on to the mangled doorknob in her hands.

"Didn't you throw that away?" I asked Erik once I parked the car.

He only nodded before going back to playing with his lighter.

"They must've seen it in the trash." Mark suggested, glancing at Erik with an upset look.

I sighed before getting out of the truck and walked cautiously toward the Adults. Mark was the only one who came to stand beside me; Mary and Erik made sure to fall back a few steps.

"Hello children," The female said, giving us a tight smile. "Who would like to explain _this?_" She gestured toward the door knob before throwing it to me. I caught it swiftly in my gloved hands.

"Well you see," I started, shuffling uncomfortably in my spot. "The vampire-James- he paid us a visit yesterday. It was before we went to La Push."

The Female's sudden laugh made us jump. "You didn't think that information was important to inform us about?" She shrugged at the Male, "Well, it was only a _vampire_."

"I was too distracted with the wolves to tell you." I defended, "And by the time we got back it was late, so I thought I'd tell you today."

"Never wait to tell us something like this." She whispered harshly, suddenly aware of the fact that we still have neighbors. "Don't let it happen again, Isabella."

"Okay." I sighed. "Then I should probably tell you. Edward and Alice Cullen stopped by yesterday too. After James left."

She quirked an eyebrow. "What for?"

"They came to check if I was okay."

The Male smiled at that. "Perfect. Seems like that part is going as planned."

She and the Male walked back inside with Mary and Erik following behind them.

Mark stayed back with me and took the knob from my hands. "Give 'em time." He advised, "They don't know what this School thing is doing to them."

I looked up at him. "And we do?"

He only shrugged before heading off inside.

Mary didn't fail to remind me of the trip to Port Angeles, also known as the nightmare I was dreading more than anything. Seems that no matter how upset she is with me, she's keen on getting me to befriend these girls, its like the whole Mike Newton fiasco all over again. Erik wasn't willing to talk her out of it for me and Mark didn't want any part of getting involved in Mary's wrath., a thought which caused me to label him a traitor.

That left my hope to lie with the Adults who would most definitely be against the simple idea of us going out. Mary would have to be the one to tell them and when she does she'll have no choice but to cancel.

So here I now sit, in the middle of the floor/bed awaiting the answer I hoped with my fingers crossed to be a no.

"Relax, Bella." Mark sighed barley looking up from his document, "The Adults will never go for it."

I sighed. "I know they wont, but-"

Mary waltzed in just then-a horrible sign in my case- and plopped down beside me. "Good news, Isabella." She smirked, "You and me are going out."

"They're letting us?" There was no disguising the shock in my voice. "But why? What did you tell them?"

Her smirk never left her face. "Never mind that, Isabella. Get ready cause Jessica and Lauren will be here within the hour." She practically shoved me towards the bathroom and started rummaging through both her and mine's suitcases.

"We really need to get you different clothes!" Mary called through the door. I didn't bother answer to her comment, knowing I'd might as well be talking to the door.

I shuffled through the small wooden cabinet in the bathroom as I looked for something to do. Mary wasn't exactly clear as to what she wanted me to do in here and me being a 'fashion disaster' I doubt anything I do would be 'fashion perfect' for Mary.

The door was thrown open to reveal the inch taller girl who has been going throw her moods the past couple of weeks.

"How do you survive in these?" She asked, holding up at least two pairs of my famous sweaters in her arms.

"It's hard but I manage." I told her sarcastically.

She only rolled her eyes at me before dumping my clothes on the floor and shoving me to sit on top of the toilet seat.

A few minutes later Mary released me from her grip and placed a hand held mirror in my hands. I have to admit, my hair didn't look to bad.

"I know," Mary smiled in triumph , "Amazing what a few bobby pins will do. Now you wont embarrass me so much when we leave."

"Gee, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

She threw one of her light blue shirts at me before leaving. "Its for you to put on , Isabella." Mary yelled over her shoulder.

I stared at the shirt, at this _short sleeved _shirt, before reluctantly changing in to it. This first thing that came to mind was, _'Hell to the no!'._

"Mary!" I called as I walked out of the bathroom. "You are out of you're mind if you think I'm wearing this!" I pointed at my bare arms. " What the hell am I supposed to do about this?"

"Wear a jacket." She advised with a shrug.

There was a honk outside, sending Mary in a frantic dance around the room. "Get to get going! Hurry, Isabella !"

She ran out the room door with her bag in hand and I was left staring at her back. And _not_ in a nice way.

I jumped when something cold and heavy landed on my shoulder. Erik's leather jacket.

"Have fun." He smirked before sitting back down on his bed.

I went down to the car where the girls were waiting for me. Lauren, of course, gave me a not-so-nice greeting.

"Nice to see your wearing something other than black." She noted as she glanced at me through her side view mirror. Lauren pulled out of the drive a bit harshly, put I chose to ignore it; The adults did that all the time anyway.

The drive from Forks to Port Angeles took an awfully long hour, even so when your stuck in a car with teenage girls who don't like you. The whole ride there it was endless topics on winter clothing, hot celebs, and whether I was a _Summer_ or _Autumn_, whatever that meant.

When we finally reached our destination I had to restrain myself from jumping out of the car and into a nearby ditch. Okay, yeah, I'm exaggerating, but still. The ride was hell.

"So where should we go to first?" Mary gleamed once she saw what surrounded her.

Endless stores lined the street, big yellow and blue orbs of light decorated every single one of them. There were many people in fancy clothing, from classic dresses to expensive looking tuxes. It was a sight to see, especially when your used to seeing nothing but thrift stores and cheap motels.

Jessica pulled us to the nearest store which just so happens to be a dress store. Cause, you know, I'm bound to have to wear a mini dress in my line of work.

After a while of the dress selection process, I manage to drone out. By that I mean me unknowingly murmuring 'yeah' and 'perfect' every time they asked me about a dress they tried on.

We've just about reached our fifth store when I reached my breaking point. They were talking about the 'cute' guys at school. I decided to ditch before they brought me into this.

"Hey guys, Do you know where a nearby bookstore is?" I asked while Lauren was in the changing room.

Jessica froze her hand on the rack she was looking through as she turned to me. "A bookstore?" She repeated, confused. "Why would you want to go to a bookstore?"

I could faintly feel Mary's disapproving look as I answered her. "There's this book I've been needing to by since forever. And I just thought that since I'm here might as well get to it, right?" I laughed, "So, do you know any book stores?"

"Yeah," She smiled as she pointed somewhere out the window, "Actually I think there's one at the corner of this street. I don't know the name though, I hardly go ever go to meet us back in La Bella Italiana,"she added, "Its two blocks over."

I gave a smile as a thanks before leaving the store, avoiding eye contact with Mary. She was going to have at it once we get back to the house, I can feel it. But hell to it, _I'm _the one with the ability of pain.  
>I walked down, eyes barely glancing at the other stores, till I reached the end of the street. The whole time I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.<p>

It didn't look like your usual Barnes and Noble. It was small compared to the ones I've seen in commercials and it had a strange Magic theme mixed with a modern today look. I liked it.

The inside was even better. It smelled of leather and dust with dream catchers hanging on the ceiling by a clear thread, giving it the illusion of the catchers floating in mid air. Shelves of old books ran in aisles through the already small room. There was a small check out desk near the door with a small old woman sitting in front of the computer. A small poster hung behind her reading :_ Five dollar Readings from Madam Tshilaba._

The store it self gave off a sense of antique feeling and it made me wish the girls would have wanted to stop by here instead.

"Hello, dear." The old woman greeted. There was a thick accent in her voice that I couldn't quite pinpoint. It had a Russian tint to it with something else. "Can I help you with anything?"

"No, thank you." I told her. "I just came to look."

She stared at me for a moment before flashing me a big smile that showed her one golden tooth. "If you need anything, Ill be right here, dear." And she went back to shuffling some cards she had on the table.

The books were as they appeared to be. Old. Many of them caught my attention from old poetry to myths in from many religions. I scanned through the aisles slowly and froze when I came to a certain title that caught my attention.

The Beasts Who Hide In the Dark: Reality or a Nightmare.

"Just a peek." I whispered, reaching for the book.

Much to my not-so-much surprise, it listed all of the 'beasts' that I've heard of but none that I've fought. That includes windigos , skin walkers, etcetera. I sighed before setting the book back to its place and continuing on through the store.

I picked out and got lost in so many books that varied between the gods and goddesses and psychics that I didn't even notice the old clerk sneaking up behind me.

"How are you doing?" She asked in her thick accent. I was just in the middle in reading about Zeus. "Need any help finding anything?"

I smiled at her, "No, thank you. I'm fine." I expected her to walk away then, but oddly enough she didn't. She continued to stare at me and held no shame in doing so. "I'm sorry," I said, "Do you need something?"

It took her a moment to answer me, it seemed that she was looking at the space around me, calculating. Finally she said in her butter-thick accent," I see something, child, a force around you."

I set the book down as I took a small step away from her. "I'm sorry, I don't know what your-"

She quickly lifted a brown wrinkly hand, "Hush, child," She whispered, "I've never seen so much darkness around someone so young." I was about to speak before she started talking again. "I am Madam Tshilaba. I see that which stays hidden from others and I see that you know the world's secrets as well."

Immediately, I started worrying on whether or not she knew about me being a hunter but that thought actually being true was highly unlikely.

I gave a fake look at my watch. "I must go."

She grabbed the arm of the jacket with a strong hold. "One reading, " she demanded, not unkindly, "Only one reading and you may go."

I struggled for an excuse. "I don't have any money to pay you."

Madam Tshilaba shock her head. "No money, just a reading. You must know what your future holds, child." she glanced a the dream catchers. "The spirits demand it."

"Okay." I agreed hesitantly.

She took me over to her desk and handed me the tarot cards she was shuffling with before and handed them to me. "Mix the tarot cards." She said, "Then separate them into three piles."

I did as she asked and looked at her when I was done. " Okay now what?"

Madam Tshilaba smiled at my impatience. "We read your cards." She pulled one card from each stack and set them down in front of her, the backs of the cards still showing. She turned the first card over. It had an upside down picture of a dancing man with a stick. She grimaced. "_Le Mat_." She said in a different language. " The Fool. In reverse."

I couldn't help glare at her. "Great, I'm stupid."

She laughed despite my harshness, though it didn't sound…happy. "Something is going on." She explained, "it's a bad time for relationships for you. Beware of making rash decisions and finish what you start." She turned over the second card with a picture of a girl petting a lion. This one made her smile. "You have courage and self control, it will help with what's coming. You have control over you're your strength and power."

"I don't know about that. "I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Luckily she didn't call me out on it but went on to the next card of a man hung upside down. Another one that made her smile. "You are doing something that is worth your while." She whispered, "You are sacrificing what most wouldn't."

I tugged on the sleeves of the jacket. "Are we done now? I really need to get back with my friends, they'de be worried."

"Ill do this quickly then." She smiled as she pulled out four more and turned them all over. "The spirits are really demanding, you know. The are your only protectors at the moment."

I thought back to James. "Well, they are really crappy at their job."

She ignored my comment and continued on with the reading. I didnt even bother look at the cards. "You're surrounded by injustice, by infair judgments. There will be a change you will be unwilling to change will cause to take away your freedom but another change will reveres it." She finished.

"Okay, thats great." I said, getting up from my seat. "Now I must really go."

"Child, the darkness around you, it is a shadow that follows you everywhere. I _feel_ it." She shook her head, as if trying to erase and image. "So young..." She whispered, more to herself than me. "So young..."

"Thank you for the reading." I said as I walked to the door. "But now, I _really_ must go."

She nodded, closing her eyes. "Beware, young one. The spirits can only protect you for so long."

And I was out the door in a quicky. Truth be told, I was a bit scared during the reading; She seemed so sure of herself the whole time it's hard to make myself believe that she was just another psycic fake.

Jessica asked me to meet them down at La Bella Italiana that was soppsed to be two block over from here which means I have to walk since I have no car. Great.

I checked my watch and sighed. The streets felt oddly empty for it being just six poeple who wore fancy dresses were no longer around nad there were hardly any cars driving throught the streets and the clouds added to the depressing feeling.

I was close to reaching the second street after ten minutes when I heard a car slow down beside me. I pulled off my gloves and stuffed them in my pocket as I looked at the owner of the car.

"Hello, Bella." Edward greeted through the open window.

"Edward?" I asked, shocked to find him in this neck of the woods. "What are you doing here?"

He looked around. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I came with Mary and her friends." I answered. "Your turn."

He didnt hesitate. "My mother sent me out here for an errand."

"Oh..."I said, not no oneing how else I should respond. "Well, nice chatting with you." I was about to walk away before he stopped me once more.

"Do you need a ride?" He asked, looking, again, unsure.

"No, Its just a block away Im good."

"Its no problem." He insisted, "I dont feel comfortable with you walking alone out here."

I couldnt hold back the bite in my voice. "I can fend for myself, thank you very much."

"That may be,"Edward nodded, "But I still wish you would let me give you a ride."

I looked around and sighed. The clouds were getting darker by the minute, its bound to rain soon and I've yet to even find the restaruant Jessica told me of.

"Fine." I finally answered, putting on my gloves before opening the car door. "We're meeting at La Bella Italiana. We have to hurry though, Mary will be worried if Im not there."

Edward didnt answer, just pressed on the car and drove. We reached the restaruant in a matter of minutes where all three of the girls stood.

Once I got out of the car, I noticed Jessica, Lauren and Mary, who carried many bags of clothing, all wore the same masks of pure shock.

"Hello, ladies." Edward awkwardly greeted through the window. Only Lauren and Jessica seemed to stay in their spot, Mary tried her best to hold back her now angry stare.

"Hey, Edward." Jessica breathed as she failed to disguise her blush. "What are you doing here. And with Bella?" She didnt say that unkinndly, but I still took it somewhat offensive.

"My mother asked me to run an errand for her." He explained, "I bumped into Bella on my way back and decided to give her a ride.

"Oh, are you taking her home, too?" Jessica asked despite the fact that I was already _out _of the car.

Edward looked at me before going back to her. "I was lead to believe you'll be taking her."

Jessica's eyes sparkled. "My car is small," she said, lifting up her bags. "And we bought so many things, do you think it would be a bother for you to take her?"

Edward smiled, though he looked hesitant towards the suggestion. "It wouldnt be a bother at all."

Mary, though, looked like she wanted to scream. "Ill see you back at the house, Isabella." She said as her and the other girls made their way to their car. Jessica gave me a look and mouthed: _Details!_

Edward acted as though he didnt notice, but it was obvious that he did by the smile on his face.

I got back into Edward's volvo and the first thing he asked was: "I thought you didnt like being called Isabella."

I stared at him. "I dont. Why?"

"Your cousin called you Isabella-"

"Oh," I finally understood. "She's mad at me, too. Has been for quite sometime."

Edward glanced my way as he drove. "And why is that?"

I didnt want to tell him it was because of him and his family so I gave him a variation of the truth. "Anger issues and great grudge holding put together isnt all that great a mix."

Edward nodded. "She didnt seem to happy when you agreed to ride with me." He observed, "Does that have anything to do with the anger issues?"

"And why would you say that?"

His eyes hradly wavered from the rode. "Im good at reading poeple; It's not too difficult for me."

There was a moment when I thought what he said held a double meaning, something to do with vampire characteristics so I decide to have a little fun.

"So your like-what?" I laughed, "A mind reader?"

"Would it be so bad if I was?"There was a serious note to his tone despite the slight crooked smile on his pale face.

"Not bad." I comfirmed, hoping he'd know I was kidding. "Just a little wierd. And creepy."

"Is that really what you'd think?" His crooked smile faltered around the edges.

"Sort of." I shrugged, pulling the jacket tighter around me."But I'm used to wierd at this point."I looked down on my watch and began to feel a bit nervous. It was ten past seven, and it take roughly an hour to reach the house. James would be waiting for me in the woods. Hopefully he wont take my slight tardyness as the wrong thing.

Edward raised an eyebrow at me." What makes you say that?"

My explanation was a simple: "Weird walks right down my alley."

"What an interesting alley you have."His smile was back.

"You have no idea."I stared out the window taking notice how fast the trees were passing by. Edward must be going way above the speed limit. Funny, he didnt really strike me as the rule breaker type.

There was an was a silence in the car, the only sound was of the motor running, but like many others, this silence wasnt so much awkward as it was comfortable. I didnt know though if the feeling towards it was mutual, so I decided to brake the ice."So, are you?"

Edward looked at me confused. "Am I what?"

"A mind-reader."

"No."He managed to growl.

"Alright, Alright." I sighed, putting my hands up in surrender. "No need to get all moody. Can you drive a bit faster? I have an appoinment tomorow and I need my sleep."

He obliged and said nothing on the fact that it was almost eight, still early for nap time.

And we went back to the silence. Note to self, do not 'joke' about stuff like mind reading. he takes his non excistent supernatural powers seriously.

The rest of the ride back became somewhat awkward, and I managed to do that in a matter of minutes. I'd say its a record but there's still the Erik situation.

When we finally reached the house it was pouring down raining. Edward went back to being his jack butt self and didnt even say 'good-bye' when he dropped me off. I waited for him to turn around the corner before taking off full sprint into the woods, not even waiting for Mary to arrive first.

I didnt know what direction I was going, or if even I was in the right spot, but James was a smart cookie and can find me anywhere. He pretty much proved it the past couple of days. I paid no mind to my now soaked clothes as I looked around.

"James!" I called out once I was deep enough into the woods to not be heard by my cousins, "James!"

"Your late." He growled, appearing out of thin air. "I almost believed you didnt care for your dear cousin."

"I was held up."

James' crimson eyes seemed to gleam at that. "I know, with your new friend. Edward." He leaned against a nearby tree, making it slightly crack beneath him in the process.

I glared at him. "Im not even going to ask how you knew that. How's Anna?"

He shrugged as he kicked a rock across the woods. "She'll be doing better once I have the answer to our deal."

I removed wet strands of hair away from my face, the bobby pins Mary managed to put in did nothing against this rain. I couldnt bring myself to care at this."If I agree, if I say Ill help you, you'll give me Anna?"

James made a clicking sound with his tongue. "That wasnt the deal. " he said, "You help me and my coven and Anna will not be harmed. "

"So your not handing her over? Whats the point in helping you then?"

He blurred to my side. "The _point,"_ he growled, "Is that your Anna will not _die. _Or worse, be turned into one of us."

I flinched at his last words, the thought of Anna becoming a SOB like him was really not what I wanted. "Fine. Fine, I'll do it. But you cant tell my cousins. Or the deals off."

He threw his head back and laughed. "I dont think its yours to decide on that." He reminded, " I am the one with the upper hands, Isabella." He waited for me to say something but continued on when I didnt. " Very well then. Is that your final answer? You and I will be allies?"

I held back a shudder as I answered. "Yes."

"Dont look so upset. "He tried to soothe me, but his red eyes made it impossible to do. "You'll be helping take down vampires. It is your job to do anyway,, your just taking a different approach."

I ignored his comment. "You have my answer. Now leave."

And just like that he was gone. Nothing but the scared silence of the crickets to prove he was here and the pissed off feeling in my stomach.

The wolves better come through with helping us take down James and Victoria, or Anna and I are dead.

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><p><strong>Review! Review! Review! Lets see if we can try and do five reviews by friday again! And Ill put in a little extra something in the next chapter!<strong>

**~AmericasAngel**


	19. Sickness and health

**I know, I know. Its been like a month. But writers block really sucks-_- So heres another 5,000 word chapter. and Hope you enjoy it.**

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><p>Mary was waiting for me when I walked in, soaking wet form the rain. She was mad, it wasn't that hard a guess to come to that conclusion.<p>

"Edward passed us when he dropped you off." She mentioned harshly, "Yet, I walked in seven minutes before you. Why?"

"I didn't know I had to walk in the moment he dropped me off," I snapped at her, completely aware of the puddle of water I was making underneath me. "Since when were you so punctual?"

"Since you decided to take a stroll." She bit back. "I didn't see you when I walked to the door."

"I didn't want to risk the adults to not see me with you," I lied, "So I hid and guessed when you'd reach the house. My estimate was a bit off, so what?"

She laughed without humor. "So what? Isabella, there are blood sucking creatures out to get us at any moment, how's that for your '_so what' _?"

"I can protect myself, Mary." I reminded her, waving my hands in the air to make sure she got what I meant.

"_This,"_ She mimicked my gesture. "Did nothing to help either you or Anna now did it?"

I glared at her. "This thing your having, you know with low blows, its really unhealthy. Tone it down to one every two weeks. "

"Low-" The sound of footsteps silenced Mary right up, only to have her run to stand by my side.

Moments later Erik came in wearing nothing but his jeans, showing off his muscle structure that he manages to keep hidden under the leather jacket of his. Of course, with me not used to Erik's sudden lack of appreciation towards clothes, I tried not to stare. The gesture remained unnoticed as he ignored Mary and I completely and walked straight to the refrigerator. He grabbed a bottle of water and walked to the table, only then did he realize we were there.

"I thought I heard someone talking, "Erik grudged as he sat down.

Mary let out an annoyed huff. "And that's how you would've taken on the defensive? No knife or gun, just getting a bottle of water."

Erik didn't look fazed by Mary's harshness, if anything he looked like he didn't care. "I mistook it for rats." He shrugged. "My bad. "

"I'll try not to take that as an insult." Mary sighed, walking out of the kitchen, "I'm going to change, I've had enough of you guys."

"You know, "Erik called at Mary's retreating back," And here I started feeling like you were the sister I never had."

"Whatever." Mary's now faint voice answered to Erik's brittle sarcasm.

Erik still hasn't acknowledged that I was there and by the way things are going, I'm starting to think it might be good that he ignores me. At least I wont be on the receiving end of his anger, well, sort of.

Just as I was about to head to the room and dry up, Erik did a double take of me and practically spit out his drink. "My leather jacket!" He growled, getting up and pulling off me.

I all but fell on my face at his harshness and pushed him back away from me. "Yeah, you let me barrow it remember?" I seethed.

"I handed it to you clean and dry." Erik reminded as he lifted the jacket in his hands. "This is _not _clean and dry."

Pushed him back even further. "Its freaking Forks! The rainiest place in the U.S.! Sorry if there's no tree big enough to cover me from its rainfall!"

He seemed to either be too angry to say anything else, or ran out of comebacks. Nevertheless, he slammed the jacket onto to the table before turning his back to me.

I took in a breather, trying to calm myself as I mustered up the ability to talk to him without yelling. "Is the jacket the real reason why you're mad at me now?" I asked, making him abruptly stop halfway through the doorway. "Or is it still because I mentioned that girl earlier today?" He didn't answer me even though we were still virtually in the same room, I figured that was the end of the topic and sat at the table. "Okay. Fine. I'll clean your jacket, no need to get all pissy with the fake cousin."

I Sat back into the chair, drained both physically and metaphorically by the people who take out their anger on me. At this point, I didn't even care that my clothes were still soaking wet from my short meeting with James. Or even that I had my bare arms exposed once again. The anticipation of getting these cases over with hung in the air heavier than ever, around _me_ anyway.

"I wasn't getting pissy with you." Erik's exasperated voice rang through the kitchen; it seemed loud compared to the moment of silence I had seconds before.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," I said, "But wasn't it you that yanked the jacket off of me?"

He nodded, "That's true. But weren't you the one that shoved me back?" Erik accused before adding, "Twice, now that I think about it."

"Self-defense."

"I'm just glad you still wore those gloves." He shrugged, studying the bottle of water he held in his hands. He was still at the doorway, neither one of us sure of what to say next.

"I still stand by what I said. " Erik suddenly reminded, explaining when I gave him a confused look. "About steering clear from the guys at school, keeping a down-low."

" Oh," I mumbled as I remembered his vow the first day we arrived. "We seem to be doing a crappy job at that, aren't we?"

"No kidding."

I sat back further into my chair and sighed. "So what? Your not mad at me anymore? Cause if you haven't noticed Mary's a handful, she can be mad for a group of fifteen."

I meant for that to be a joke, but Erik didn't laugh and truth be told that scared me. Yes, We hardly ever got along before Forks but he was always joking around with the others, or making fun of me. Now, there's nothing.

"What's up with this town, dude?" He complained as he finally made his way to sit in front of me. " I mean, apart from the fact that it has enough supernatural creatures to fill up a horror book, there's something in this place that's making all of us act strange."

"All of us?" I questioned, "Its just you and Mary."

"You'll be dragged into it too, bro. " His smile didn't quite reach his eyes and I immediately knew that this was a serious moment. The first one between him and I in seventeen years. " That girl, her name's Brittany."

"Figured, she looks like a Brittany.' I joked, before going back to serious mode. "But why did you get all defensive when I pointed her out?"

"Like I said, we need to stay on the down-low. Mary's making that hard enough as it is."

" That doesn't really answer my question." I pried as I tapped my fingers on the table. "Why did you get so defensive?"

Erik looked at me as if searching for something before sighing. "You're good at keeping your mouth shut, so I guess I can tell you."

"Don't I feel flattered?"

He ignored me as he continued. "Brittany did catch my attention." Erik admitted, seeming as though it took a lot out of him to do so. "She's…different."

I couldn't help but interrupt. "Like, she's-a-total-supernatural-that-fits-into-the-horror-book kind of weird? Or the like-no-one-else-cliché-quote kind of weird."

Erik stared at me. "The second one. Only not so long and cliché-ish."

"Noted."

"But she reminds me of the many sacrifices we have to make." He explained, sounding so depressed and non-Erik like. "We'll never be normal will we?"

"I didn't know you wanted to be."

He looked around as he answered. "The more I'm here, the more I want to be."

"Normal's over rated," I assured with a shrug, "Not even normal people want it."

Erik said nothing, only continued to study his water bottle like it was the most interesting thing in the world. After a while I decided to talk again. "So does this mean your not mad at me anymore?"

He nodded. "Just don't bring up Brittany in front of any of the others, alright?"

I held up a hand in salute. "Scouts honor."

Erik rolled his eyes at me. "That only works if you were really a scout."

"Still." I shrugged as I got up from my feet, nearly slipping on the huge puddle of water I made. "I'm going to change. You probably want to put on a shirt."

He smirked as he put his feet up on the table." Why? Cant handle these goods?"

"Nope." I smiled glancing to the door towards the sound of heavy footsteps Erik's yet to notice. "But I'm not too sure about the Adults. " Erik's cursing was the last thing I heard before sprinting off passed the Adults and into my room.

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><p>'Tis was a beautiful morning the next day. Not a cloud in the sky, the sun shining full on and I felt like I could take on the world. To make things better, Mary was now talking kindly to me.<p>

"Isabella, if you don't stop that horrible coughing of yours, so help me, I will stuff tissues down your throat!"

Okay, 'tis was _not_ a cloudless day or a beautiful morning. There was an endless cover of rain that went on for miles and Mary was anything _but_ kind to me. And I woke to find that I could not stop coughing. This, though, was not just any cough. It was a throat-burning, head-spinning, "I'll just choke up my whole esophagus while I'm at it." type of cough. Must be from the extra time Ive spent in the rain yesterday.

I must seriously have some bad voodoo around here cause it seems like Im having bad luck everywhere I go. Hurting my ankle, almost getting hit by a van, getting a killer head ache and now a massive cough. All I need now is to choke on my own saliva and pass out from lack of oxygen.

Mark walked in a few moments later with a glass of water in his hands. "You should start getting ready." He advised, "The Adults aren't letting you take another sick day off from school."

I said nothing as I took the glass and chugged the whole thing down in one gulp and watched as Mark made his way into the restroom.

Mary has just finished getting ready and started her way to the door before turning to me again. "And hurry up, we're about to leave."

With a sigh, I pulled a pair of sweats from my suitcase that I've yet to unpack and groggily put them over the sleeping shorts I had on. This, of course, gave Mary another reason to nag.

"You're really wearing that?" She chastised as she went over to the bags of clothing she brought back from yesterday.

"There's no dress code against it."

"Yeah but," She held up the bags," We bought you cute stuff."

"Ill wear it tomorrow." I promised, tying my hair into a bun. "When I'm not contaminating near by objects with my cough germs."

Mary gave a disgusted look as she set the bags down. "Great to know."

"Lady's!" Erik called as he walked through the room, "Stop the talkin' and get a'walking! School is starting in fifteen minutes and I don't plan on getting Mr. Mason on my case again."

I threw Erik a weak, skeptical glance. "Mr. Mason has never been on your case."

"Says the girl that keeps missing classes." Erik said, reaching for his leather jacket. Once he noticed it was not yet clean, he gave me a small glare and tossed it onto his bed. "I need it cleaned." he ordered, "I can't walk around feeling naked in this cold weather."

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it yesterday." I tried to hold down a cough as I answered him, the effort caused my eyes to slightly water. "Walking around this place half naked."

Erik scoffed as he grabbed Marks jacket off the floor. "Yeah, never doing that again. The Female would've given me a shot of the Kryptonite had it not been for my toned body." He flexed his arms as if to prove a point, but Marks jacket did well to hide Erik's "toned body".

Mary suddenly clapped, scaring me into a dizzy phase. "If you two are done gossiping, I'd really like to get to school on time."

Erik started making his way to the door. "and Mr. Mason-"

"Shut up." Mary snapped at him as she followed through the door.

Mark came out from the bathroom just then, his eyes searching the room before landing them confused on me. "Where's my jacket?"

"Erik." I stated simply, as though the name itself gave the answer to everything.

Mark wasted no time in rushing out the bedroom door towards our thief, his long legs going into a sprint. Had I not been too distracted by the nauseated feeling that came with the cough, I would've found Mark's reaction amusing. His sudden show of normal teenage traits is always a sight to see, if you think about it.

I trudged my way to the car and thanked my lucky stars that I was at least well enough to drive. I didn't how long I would last with Mark's horrible driving.

We got to the school just as the bell rang. Student piled through the door to get out of the horrible rain and paid no attention as Mark, Erik and I pushed our way through as well. Mary headed towards Jessica and Lauren who were at the back with us of the piling students holding up their umbrellas. Secretly, I hoped lightning would start crashing down and coincidently head straight towards their umbrella. As far as hoping goes, all I got as an answer was a gust of wind tugging the umbrellas out of the two girls' hand and onto the wet cement. I'll still take that minor unfortunate event.

Someone managed to shove me hard enough to make me trip over the slight floor lift and onto the ground. Half of me was through the door, while the other half soaking up the rain water. There were a few chuckled from people passing by, but I choose to ignore in to save my dignity. As fate would have it, though, Edward magically appeared in front of me and helped me up onto my feet.

The moment his icy hands left my arms I immediately tried dusting myself off, patting my legs and sweater to remove any dirt. The only thing I managed to do was dirty my gloves even more. "Not my day." I coughed, looking up at Edward. "Thanks for the help though. I owe you one."

Edward only gave me a small crooked smile and turned to walk away. The most reaction I got since I mentioned the whole mind reading thing. Though it was just yesterday it still felt like a forever ago.

Mark and Erik were already walking through the hallways, barley having noticed my fall. A wave of annoyance passed threw me as I glared at their backs. "Asswholes." I muttered hoarsely and coughed my way to them. Once I caught up with them, I mustered the little energy I had left in me to slap them upside their head. "That's it." I sighed, "That's all my body allows me to do right now."

Erik grimaced as he rubbed his head. "Care to explain why you hit me?" Mark nodded with Erik's question as he too messaged the now tender part of his head.

"Because you didn't notice." I managed to breath, feeling dangerously weak.

"We didn't notice what?"

"Exactly." And I turned into the classroom, quickly slouching into my chair with the relief of not having to stand. I must really be sick. Again.

Anna's seat next to me seemed emptier than it's ever been in her time missing. Maybe because of the deal I made with James to save her, or maybe because the video James handed me still bore a place in my mind, I didn't know which but the emptiness was still there.

Mary fell into the seat next to Anna's with an uncaring thud and laughed at something Jessica said as she passed her. Had I not known better, I would've thought she didn't give a rat's butt that Anna was currently in the hands of danger itself. Had I not known better, I would've zapped her like an ant with a magnifying glass.

Mr. Mason walked carrying stacks of paper with a coffee cup balancing on top of it. He tiredly set down the papers and took a long chug of his drink like there was no tomorrow.

Mary patted my arm only telling me the Adults wanted to go to talk to the wolves after we leave school and turning back to face the front. I looked back to Mark and Erik, who confirmed the meeting with a nod of their heads and began the worksheet Mr. Masen passed out.

I could hardly focus in the work; what with me feeling ill why they punished the girl in the Scarlet letter was the least of my worries.

"Ms. Carter," I heard the teacher call. "Is everything all right?" There was an undertone of annoyance accompanied with concern if possible and the whole class' attention was suddenly on me.

I grimaced as a wave of nausea churned at the bottom of my stomach, though whether it was for the illness or the sudden attention I was recieving, I didnt know. "Just peachy." I said and as if to go against me, my throat tickled with a cough that was just itching to come out.

Mr. Mason shuffled through the papers on his desk an took out what looked like a white oversized sticky note. "Let me write you a note to go to the nurse and-"

"I said I was fine." I hadn't meant for my aggrivation to spill out but ol' and behold there it was. As clear and obvious as the rain outside the window. In a much nicer tone I added, "It's just a cough, Im not dying. If I was I'll make sure to let you know."

My comment didnt seem to make the teacher feel anymore at ease yet he set the oversized stickynote aside and continued on with what he was doing moments before. One by one the students started working on their papers again. Not long after that did the bell ring and soon the room was empty of its students. Mary was not far begind them but Mark and Erik stayed behind with me. Not like their options were apealing: Stay with the sick girl or go with the one who'd ditch them for a cute outfit.

Mark and Erik talked amongst themselves while we were waiting in line in the cafeteria. Something about what type of knife is sharper or something. I didnt bother listening, I was too busy gaping at Edward Cullen who was uncharacteristically sitting at an empty table, away from his family and looking at me. None of my 'cousins' seemed to notice, not even Mary, but to me there might as well have been a giant neon sign glowing on top of him.

The moment he caught me looking at him he smiled and curled one of his long fingers as if to say _'come here_.' Of this, Mary took notice of and so did everyone else. "Oh my god," Jessica blurted out, "Is he talking to _you?" _There was no hiding the look on Lauren's face when she realized who Jessica was talking about, her knuckles practically turned white as she gripped her tray a little too strongly.

"I guess he is." I admitted, never wavering my eyes away from him. "Ill just go see what he needs." Even a girl with a fever could notice the amount of eyes that found her back interesting as she walked towards Edward . Whispers filled the room like a mashed up 'sss'. Normally I wouldve found that annoying,the gossip I mean, but instead I was greatful that they werent talking so loud that it wouldve made my head spin.

I stood awkwardly infront of Edward's empty table, managing a glance towards his family who were all silent at their own table, picking at their food with mild interest. The blond girl looked up long enough to spare me a glare.

"I dont think your family," I whispered, "likes the idea of us sitting together."

He shrugged like he didnt have a care in the world. "They dont approve much of anything I do nowadays." Despite his words, there wasnt a trace of bitterness in them that would leave me to believe it effected him. Edward arched an eyebrow at me after a moment and the silence in the cafeteria had yet to disappear. "Aren't you going to sit down?"

It barley dawned on me until now that I've been standing here like an idiot the whole time. Almost immediately, I slumped down on the chair across from him and did nothing but stare. Nothing but stare and cough. He pushed his tray,that I barley noticed he had, and unscrewed the top of the bottled water for me. I stared at the bottle, not really knowing what to do.

"Im sorry." I finally said, taking a sip of the water. "It's still wierd when you talk to me, let alone invite me to sit with you."

He said nothing as the students went back to their normal conversations, though I could tell some still waited for something interesting to happen between Edward and I.

"You're sick," He obsevered once _all_ the students were turned away from us.

I twirled the bottle in my hands much like Erik did last night only not so arrogant-like. "You noticed? And here I thought I was being so subtle with the coughing and heavy breathing."

He ignored my sarcasm and stared at me, as if searching for something. "You seem tired. You should go to the nurse, she'd-"

I lifted a hand up to stop him and used the other to stiffle a cough. "I'm fine." I insisted. "Everyone gets a little sick every now and then."

Edward pushed the tray closer to me, nearly shoving my arm. "Eat."

I,feeling as though it was my responsibilty to be stubborn, pushed the tray back to him nearly knocking the apple off its place. "I'm not hungry."

But Edward was persistent and the tray was back on my side. Refusing to continue on the infamous passing of the tray, I leaned back into my chair and crossed my arms while successfully holding back yet another cough that wouldve ruined the strong-girl-illusion I was going for.

"Suit yourself." Edward gave up and followed my gesture, also crossing his arms over his chest only on him it looked better than it probably did on me. The guy's chest practically flexed at the motion, giving him the appearance of having more muscle than the average teenage boy. I couldnt help but stare a little. _If I have to do this, _I thought, _Might as well enjoy the view. _

"You look like crap."

And just like that, attractive Edward disappeared before my eyes, and normal vampire Edward took his place. Granted, 'you look like crap' was the most free-like term I've ever heard him use.

I gave him a fake, toothey smile. "Thanks, how did you know insults were the highlight of my days?" I didnt give him a chance to answer. "So that's why you wanted me to sit with you? To tell me I look like crap? You're not going to do that in Biology right?"

He leaned on the table. "Im not going to Biology today."

I stared at him with a blank expression."Your skipping class? Thats..." I took another sip of water as I struggled to find the right word only to settle with the lesser option. "...Strange. Why?"

My stomach ached with nausia as I tried to focus on what he was saying, but his words were lost some where in the between it and the now loud voices of the whole student body. My ears became more sensitive with with the noises around me, I couldve sworn I heard a cricket bouncing around under my table. Even _that_ made me feel like someone stuck a hand full of high-note sound that would've made anybody's ears bleed if they heard it.

Edwards lips were moving, I was sure of that much, but nothing else was coming through. Everything was muffled beyond comprehension but I tried to look as sick-free as possible. I even took the apple from Edward's tray and bit a small, microscopic piece of it. Big mistake. It only served to increase the sick feeling in my stomach, like adding wood to a fire that was already running on gasoline.

The was pressure on my hands. It took me a moment to realize that Edward had set his hand on top of mine meant to bring back my attention that was now on the poison apple. He was speaking,concerend, but from my end it was all mouthed words.

I thought I said: "I'm fine." at one point but it was just as muffled as everything else so I couldnt be too sure on that.

Edward's lips moved at a rapid speed then, his lips becoming a nothing but a cherry red blurr. He was looking away from me, as if talking to someone behind me. _Is there someone behind me?__I didnt notice anyone coming up._

There wasnt much time to think of that once Edward brought the water to my lips, my hands weakly pushing against his to move the bottle away. It was no use against a vampire though, and soon I gave up and drank the rest of the water to please him.

Slowly, everything became more clear. The high-pitched sound I kept hearing toned down to nothing more than the talking of students, who thankfully hadnt noticed anything due to Edward's subtleness. Though I wouldnt say the same for Jess or Mary or even Lauren, one of them would've looked over here and saw.

Edward lifted the water again but I pushed his hand away, a little more forceful than the first time. "Stop it." I growled. "Im fine. I dont need your help."

"You should-"

"-Go to the nurse, I know." I muttered hoarsly and grabbed my packback off from the floor. "I'll go right now." My kness trembled slightly as I stood up but froze once I saw Edward getting up too. "What do you think your doing?"

"Im walking you to the nurse." He stared at me as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?" I coughed, covering my slight embarrasment. "No. I'll go by myself."

He pinched the bridge of his noise, making a sound that crossed between one of annoyance and disbelief. "Bella, I'm walking you." He came to stand by me but I immedietly sat back down and refused to look up at him. "Bella." There was a warning note in his voice that was followed by an impatient sigh.

I set my head on the table and fought against the tugs he was giving my arms. It was only for show, the tugging I mean. He has the supernatural strength to lift me up with one hand, but I knew he wouldnt do that here, not infront of so many poeple and to girl that supposedly didnt know of his true identity.

"Either I go by myself," I countered, my words muffled against the table, "Or I wont go at all. Your choice."

Edward was silent for a few minutes but I couldnt see whether it was he was considering his options or because he didnt want to negotiate.

After a while I spoke. "Fine. I wont go. Good choice ,Edward."

"You have to promise to go straight to the nurse." He sighed. "No tours around the school."

I lifted my head up from the table and smiled this small smile. "I, Bella Carter, promise to seek help the moment I get up from this table and leave this cafeteria." And to top it off, I pulled out my pinky. "Pinky swear."

Edward looked at me wearily, he didnt take me seriously but after a minutes thought he finally nodded.

Ignoring the wave of dizzyness, I got up for the millionth time and left the cafeteria. From the corner of my eye I saw Mark and Erik staring at me, confused, but I gave them a smile of reassurance and stepped through the doors. Once I was far enough from Edward's vampire hearing range I took out my phone. "There's no way a nurse is going to help me."

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><p><strong>What did you guys think?Sorry for the mistakes, i dont really notice them sometimes. Any who! review review review!<strong>

**~AmericasAngel**


	20. The Pack

**Finally! after months! Its just that its my first year in high school thats not even a _normal_ high school and well things seem to be adding up differently.**

**But I digress, here's chapter nineteen! Its my favorite even though my favorite character doesn't have a part in it. :( **

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight.**

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><p>"So how did you get my home phone number again?" Jacob called out as he swung off his motorcycle and coming to stand in front of me. Thankfully, he actually decided not to be half naked in public but the tight black t-shirt and leather jacket weren't exactly helping keep the girls attention away from us. Jacob caught eye of two girls sitting on bench outside the school and gave them a wave. The girls giggled and hid behind their hair as a response.<p>

"Flaunting your beauty?" The accusation in my voice was worn away by how weak I felt and breathed out a sigh. Jacob was still eyeing the girls at the bench, oblivious to my current state. "Hey, Human personification of Fabio, damsel in distress calls for your assistance."

Finally, Jacob turned his attention back to me and smiled, only briefly, before his face turned to one of concern. "Whoa, Bella, you don't look too good." He placed one tan hand to my forehead and pulled away, shivering. "And you're cold as ice."

"Or maybe you're just too damn hot." I countered, crossing my arms in hopes of gaining some sort of warmth out in the rain. I've never gotten this sick so many times in a short period of time. And it all started with my first encounter with James. People would call it a coincidence, but in my line of work- things hardly were. There was a bubble of anger that rose in my chest. James' game continues.

Despite my mood change, Jacob smirked and leaned against his motorcycle. It squeaked in protest as Jacob's weight slightly shifted it to the side. "That could also be the problem. I think we need a second opinion, don't you?" His eyes shifted back to the girls from before and winked.

I sighed, running my hand through hair and taking little notice of how tangled it was because of the rain. "I think you should help me ditch this place. " I suggested, rubbing my temples as a wave of nausea passed over me again. "Before I show everyone what I had for breakfast."

Quickly, he pushed away from his bike and handed me the helmet that rested on the back. "Alright. Climb on and put this on." He mounted on to his motorcycle and waited for me to follow. Once the helmet was on my head Jacob faked a sigh. "Thank god the helmet covers your mouth. I don't know what I would've done if you barfed all over my mode of transportation."

The motorcycled jerked forward and my arms automatically wrapped around Jacob's waist, practically clinging for dear life. We accelerated passed the trees until they became distorted into nothing but colors, like green blurs against a brown canvas. The only sounds that surround us were the roar of the motorcycle engine and the tires that occasionally screeched against the black road.

For a moment my mind shifted back to when I was in the car with Edward, the way we were both silent, the way he drove so fast the images out the window were as they are now, nothing but a blur.

"You seem awfully quiet back there." Jacob called out loud against the wind. He craned his neck to get a better view of me before turning back to the road. "Motorcycles aren't your thing?"

"I can handle being on motorcycles." I called back, slightly defensive. "It's the fact that my stomach has a low movement-threshold right now that I have a problem with."

Jacob's shoulders shook against me, but the wind was so harsh and the helmet a good sound barrier that I could only assume he was laughing.

We arrived at La Push in a matter of minutes, or at least, I thought it was La Push. Jacob passed the all familiar beach and continued onto a rather unfamiliar road. The surroundings changed, but it was so unnoticeable that you'd have to have either amazing eyesight or be a hunter, like me. There were more trees, more bushes, more greenery around here that proving my theory wrong of Forks being the greenest place known to mankind.

Finally we came to jerking stop in front of a small red house. The paint was chipping off the exterior walls, revealing splotches of a light blue that might've been the color of this small house before. The wind pushed the swinging seat on the porch forward, making it look like those typical houses in the movies the others and I would watch back in Division. Along the side of the stairs was a ramp that rose from the earth in cement. One thing that wasn't like the movies I've seen.

There was a barrier of trees towering in the back, blocking what little sunlight the clouds allowed to pass today. Through the tint of the helmet I could make out small patches of mud that dotted the yard.

"We're here." Jacob's voice, still muffled by the helmet I wore, vibrated through his body with a sense of pride. "Home sweet home."

I climbed off the motorcycle, landing unsteadily on my feet because of the thumping in my head. Jacob put a hand on my shoulder to steady me and I instinctively shrugged it away. He didn't look upset at the action though he didn't look pleased either.

"This is your home?" I asked, trying to bring some life into the silence that carried between us.

"Yeah," He smiled as he walked towards the front porch. My feet shuffled to his side then stopped short. Two guys I remembered from the meeting in the woods burst through the screen door in nothing but their cut-off shorts. Their names were a blank page as the meeting events raked through my mind.

Jacob turned back to me. "It's also a hangout place for the uninvited." Though he had an annoyed look in his eyes, there was a spark of affection in them too.

The two guys stopped just a shy distance away from Jacob and me. One of them sent a glare my way. "You're related to the asswhole?" It wasn't a question so much as it was a statement and by the way he cracked his knuckles, I knew he didn't really care for an answer.

I smiled blandly at him. "Which one?"

"Bella, you remember Embry and Paul." Jacob sighed as he gestured towards the two boys. One of them, Embry, waved at me as for Paul, he continued to glare though it turned colder as the wind blew harder.

"You smell like leeches."

I looked at him with a confused expression before shrugging. "New perfume I guess? Bad pick up line by the way." I felt impelled to say. "A smile would've made it a bit better."

"He means you have vampire scent around you." Embry clarified, giving a Paul a wary look. "It's like a sickly sweet smell of bleach; Not the best combination if you think about it."

"Try taken a long shower with a lot of shampoo before you come here." Paul suggested, not kindly. "We don't really appreciate the stench of our natural born enemy all over the place." He leaned in closer as if telling me a secret. "It sets off our Leech-Stench Radar." He smirked.

I turned to Jacob then, making sure to have my accusation clear on my features. "Why didn't you tell me I smell funny?"

Jacob shrugged apologetically. "I didn't want to offend you."

"You already told me I didn't look good! You might as well have ripped off the whole bad smelling Band-Aid while you were at it."

In the mist of my little rant, I stepped on mushy muddy ground and nearly slipped. I bumped into Jacob's boulder of a shoulder, fully aware of the pair of familiar arms that now circled around my waist but this time I didn't pull away.

Jacob looked down at me. "You okay, Bella?"

The world moved around me for the second time today. Everything around doubled. Two sets of Jacobs looked at me concerned, two Embrys ran up the porch to the door and as I looked towards the treetops behind Jacob's house, four sets of red dots stared right back at me.

I gripped Jacob's arm that still held my waist. "Vampire." I managed to warn, but from the look on Jacob and Paul's face I could tell neither one understood me. The four red eyes narrowed down to two and the faint trace of Blond hair managed to appear behind one of the branches. The anger from before rose up in my chest again, only ten times worse.

Frantically, I pulled away from Jacob's grasp and ripped my gloves off from my hands. My sickness was momentarily forgotten as I ran towards the back of the house. Jacob and Paul ran behind me. They were calling my name but I couldn't stop myself from sprinting towards James. I have questions and he has the answers. I'm sure of it.

My foot sunk through many of the mud puddles the ground had but it didn't slow me down. My legs were moving as fast as they could and once I passed the forest barrier, my legs pushed even harder. As soon as a reached the area James was, I stopped. Everything looked normal. The trees didn't have a scratch, the ground had no footprint and there were no sounds besides the curse that left my mouth towards the vampire.

I raised my head toward the treetops and with an angry howl I yelled. "What did you do to me?!" Birds flew away from the branches as the echo vibrated through the forest. Their terrified chirp was the only response I received. "I know you're there!" I tried again and put more of the anger into the scream. "What did you do to me, you son of a-"

The crunching of leaves broke me from my state. I swirled around with my hands raised into a dangerous curl, ready to attack. Jacob and Paul stopped short in front of me, surprised at my outburst. When Jacob reached to lower my hands, I jerked away.

"You can smell vampires." I stated to them. Even though it wasn't a question they both nodded. "Where is he? Hurry!" I pushed when they didn't answer.

Paul's eyes racked me with a glare. When he finally met my scowl, he turned away and leaned against a tree. "Great. We're partnered with a girl that has officially lost her mind."

I took a couple steps closer to where Paul was with a dangerous lift in my pace. "Not. Now."

Jacob reached for me again, but I avoided his hands by instinct. Paul looked between us with an amused expression. It only served to increase the amount of hatred I was feeling in the moment. How could they not sense James? Why aren't they taking me seriously?

In a moment's decision, I used Paul's height as an advantage and kicked his legs from underneath him. His bare back crushed a patch of leaves with a loud and satisfying thud. His arms moved to prompt him up, but with one push from my foot to his chest and he went crashing down again. My heel dug into the middle of his chest, preventing him from getting back up.

"There's a vampire here." I told Jacob, pleading him to believe me. Steel hands grabbed my ankle, but before Paul could injure me, I wrapped my hand around his neck. "Stop and listen!"

My vision went black and in the center, like always, laid a speck of red that represented someone's pain. Virtual hands reached for it, expanding it just a bit until it was the size of a baseball. Paul's body shook underneath my hand with a tortured twitch. His fingers curl around my wrist but the pain he felt hardly allowed him any strength. One last stretch of the red ball and he'd be-

And just like that, my vision went back to seeing trees and dirt and I found myself laying several yards away from Paul's twitching body. Jacob kneeled beside him, asking if he was okay. Paul moaned a response but I was too surprised to actually hear what he said. Had I really done that? Did I just put my power on Paul out if sheer anger?

As if seeming to hear me, Jacob's head snapped to me. He looked angry at first and then he smoothed out his features. "What was that?" He asked through his teeth.

"He wouldn't listen." I tried to explain with a weak breath but it was no use. There was no excuse for me to go off in that level. There was no threat, no demons or beast coming at me. I did it solely out of anger.

I scrambled on my knees towards Paul's body. Jacob looked up at the sound of the snapping twigs beneath me and his hand flew up as sign to stop me. "Just wait a second. Don't come near him."

My legs froze beneath me at Jacob's warning. Paul rolled onto his side, another moan leaving his lips, and to my surprise he didn't glare at me. Granted, the expressionless face he was giving me didn't great any butterflies in my stomach either.

"What the hell was that?" Paul managed to get on his knees, but that was all his body was capable of doing. He struggled to get himself onto his feet but after a couple minutes of huffing and puffing he gave a sigh of finality and leaned against the same tree from before.

I inched closer to his weak form with my hands clenched tightly inside the pockets of my sweater. "Paul, how do you feel?"

"Like all my brain cells were burned alive." He murmured as he lifted his fingers to his head.

My hands shook beneath the sweater as my attention shifted back to Jacob, who looked relieved at Paul's response.

I got up from my knees and walked over to stand next to Paul and Jacob. They didn't move away from me, thankfully, but they did tense the moment I was in arm's length. "James was here." It didn't seem like a bad idea to try and tell them again, even if James was probably long gone anyway. Despite the current situation, couldn't help but wonder how the next 'formal' meeting with James would go.

"Then why couldn't we smell his scent?" Jacob asked.

My mind raked through possible yet highly unlikely answers. The wind wasn't blowing hard enough, James hiding his scent; the guys just weren't paying attention. All incredibly stupid answers until one popped into my head.

"The vampire scent you smelled around me." I gasped. "That's why you didn't notice James. The two scents mixed together. There was no way you could've told both of them apart!" The sudden thinking created a rush to run through my head and I let out another curse at James'.

Jacob inched towards me, unsure of what to do. "Bella, what's going on? You kept yelling at the leech about something he did to you."

The forest seemed too open and I could still feel James presences even though I knew he was long gone by now. "My headache's coming back." I sighed as I treaded back the direction I came. The boys followed behind me keeping a safe distance between us. It didn't bother me as much as it normally would. Mark and the others used to do the same thing when we first started working together.

We reached the back of the house in a matter of minutes. My black gloves lay awkwardly on the mushy ground next to each other a good distance away from. I walked over to them and put them on despite the mud that covers the tips. Embry stood at the back porch with a look of confusion pulling at his eyebrows. He wasn't staring at me though. He was staring behind me.

"Paul, what happened? You look beat, dude."

I felt a set of stares burn on my back.

"Ask _her_." Paul accused.

Embry's gaze shifted to me, silently asking for an answer. Jacob and Paul went to stand beside me with their arms crossed over their chests.

"Could we talk about this inside?" I insisted, already making my way up the back porch. Embry moved away from the screen door and I stopped short. "Maybe Jacob should go in first? I don't feel comfortable just-"I gestured towards the door with a wave of my hands. "You know, barging in there like I own the damn place."

Jacob gave me a small smile before walking up and going in. Embry and Paul followed after him with me trailing behind them.

The inside seemed bigger than what the outside of the house gave off. It seemed warmer and more home-like than the house Division handed to us, but that wasn't much of a surprise.

We walked straight into living room where I took the chance to take everything in. The walls were painted a light shade of brown. A soft and comfy looking couch lay in the middle of the room that was practically calling my name. A small T.V was positioned in front of it with an antenna standing on top. There was a bowl of chips on the couch with crumbs surrounding the spot. It was all so normal. You'd never guess a pack of werewolves lived here.

Embry slumped onto the couch and practically knocked the bowl of chips off. "Okay, so what happened to Paul?"

All three of the boys stared at me. I couldn't help the sigh the escaped my lips. "James was-"

"Yeah, you made that point clear." Paul interrupted. His back was tense with his hands slightly shaking at his side, I knew he was trying his hardest not to shift. "What was that thing you did? Why the hell did you attack me?"

"You're not all that great to be around you know." Jacob joked but it did little to lift the mood.

I shifted uncomfortably in my spot as I explained. "It's my power. I can cause other people pain with a single touch. I can also feel their pain but I never really pay much attention to it." The boys looked at each other, each of the wearing the same mask of shock. Then I sighed before answering the second part to his question. "Neither one of you guys were listening-"

"I was too busy being attacked with my own inner pain." Paul interrupted.

I ignored him. He's too much like Erik. "He took Anna. We told you guys in the woods. She is a valuable hunter with an extraordinary ability- which is one of the reasons she was assigned to this team- but she's also my friend. James was a so close, so close and-"I glared at the wall behind Jacob. "And now he got away before I could get any answers from him. " There's no need in mentioning that I'm practically working for him. That would stir more distrust than needed. I'm pretty sure I already ruined what little trust James had in me.

Just then, an old man came through the door way in a wheelchair. That would explain the ramp they had out front. He wore a plaid shirt and the pale hat he had on his head covered most of his long black hair. He pushed the wheels with both of his hands as he smiled at me and stopped beside the couch.

"You didn't tell me we had visitors, son." The man said as he glanced at Jacob then back to me. He outstretched his hand to me waiting for me to take it. "I'm Billy Black. Jacob's father."

I tried not to stare too much at the wheelchair as I answered. "Nice meeting you, Billy. I'm Bella." My hands stayed at my side and I gave him an apologetic smile. "My gloves are dirty. Sorry."

"Then take them off, Bella." Billy chuckled though he brought his hand back down to his lap.

"Dad," Jacob spoke, walking towards his father. "Bella's helping us catch the vampires that have been killing on our territory."

My head snapped up so fast could've sworn there was a crack. There was accusation clear in my eyes as I stared at Jacob then down at Billy. My reaction only served to make everyone chuckle.

"I know about vampires, Bella." Billy assured, patting Jacob's arm. ", as I know about my son being a shape shifter."

"A shape shifter?" I questioned. "You mean he can transform into more than one being?" That's the only shape shifter I've ever known. They can change into anything from a person to a tiger. I'd never thought to have labeled Jacob a shifter.

"I wish." Jacob snorted, bringing be out of my thoughts. "Our tribes are descendants of wolves. It's a long story." He dismissed my confusion with a wave of a hand.

"It's more than just a story, son." Billy said disapprovingly at Jacob before looking at me straight in the eyes. "It's our history."

"I know, dad," Jacob sighed, somewhat regrettably. ", but now isn't the time for a history lesson. We had a vampire in the woods out in the back just a second ago."

"And we would've caught him if you guys just trusted me for a second." I accused more to Paul than anyone else. He gave me a grunt as he let himself fall on the couch beside Embry.

Billy pushed the wheels to his wheelchair towards me. There was a strange, tense feeling behind the action and it made me regret speaking out loud. "How is it that you know about the supernatural?"

My eyes snapped to him, taken back by the question, but before I could so much as open my mouth Jacob beat me to the answer. "She and some other people do this for a living."

"A living?" Billy echoed with the same amount of shock Paul had when he heard the phrase. "This is not some job where you should get paid, Bella." Despite the slight disgust he had, his eyes shone with concern. "This is real dangerous. Have you any idea what you've gotten into?"

"I know." I defended, crossing my arms over my chest. Being underestimated was not something that I took lightly. "I've been trained to fight things like this since I was a child. Me and the others have been doing this officially for the past couple years and have killed our fair share of monsters." I could the corner of his eyes pull together.

"Since you were a child? But you're simply human." Billy countered. He didn't mean it as an insult, just as a statement and the real pain he showed made it hard to be angry with him. "How could your parents put you through this?"

The question took me off guard then I realized how little he or anyone in the room actually knew about hunters and the kidnaps. "My parents died a while back in a car accident. Either way, they never had a say in this." I voiced, giving them a twist of the story I was told to give everyone else. Before Billy could state anymore negatives about my situation, another wave a pins hit against my temple. I slammed a closed fist onto the side of my head with an aggravated slam. "Damn these headaches."

"Another one?" Jacob asked exasperated. He flung a casual arm around Billy's shoulder and smiled. "Dad, give her some of that tea."

Billy sighed before pulling away and pushed the wheels towards, I assumed, the kitchen. I followed close behind letting my eyes wandering around the house. Frames with old photographs decorated the short and narrow hallway. Each of them held rusty pictures of different people; one with a younger version of the man leading me to the kitchen standing with a wide smile next to a woman about the same age as him. In front of the pair stood two girls in their early teens and a small boy. Jacob, no doubt.

Had it not been for the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, I would have never guessed it was him standing there with his small hands in his pockets. The t-shirt and brown baggy pants he wore when the picture was taking made him look lanky and skinny. His dark hair fell inches below his ears and nearly covered his black eyes. It was the exact opposite of how Jacob looked now, with his broad built and short hair. Even his wardrobe seemed to have made some cuts too. No pun intended.

And though all of the pictures showed of a time I never knew, there was a small piece in my mind-the same piece when I first met Jacob at the beach- that found it strangely familiar.

Billy dug through the cupboard that lined the wall by the sink. He pulled out cans and bags with some kind of leaves. Almost reaching the end of the cupboard, Billy finally pulled out a small container that held what looked like leaves shaped as small green hand-fans.

He placed the container on table before going to heat up water on the stove that stood on the other side of the kitchen.

I stood next to the table awkwardly as I realized that everyone else stayed in the living room.

"How do you plan on helping, "Billy started, crushing the leaves inside the mug with a spoon, "the pack with catching the vampires that crossed to our territory?" He spared a glance at me as he retrieved the water from the heated stove.

I gave an indifferent shrug, plucking some of the dirt off of my gloves. "The others and I have an advantage that will definitely be of help when fighting with vampires."

He handed me the mug and through my gloves I could feel the heat of the water. It smelled so sweet and soothing that already my headache started to subside.

"Drink all of it." He instructed sternly. "It won't do much good if you don't."

I peered over the cup. "Where can I get the herbs to make the tea?"

He put up the remainder of the leaves back into the cupboard before answering me. "They are very rare to find." He admitted, "But I have a friend that supplies me with them."

I nodded timidly as I took a sip of tea. It burned down with throat with a pleasant heat and I resisted the urge to take the rest of the leaves with me. "Who's your friend?"

Billy set his hands down onto his laps and smiled. "I don't think you'd know her. She owns a bookstore down in Seattle."

The cup froze on my lips. The whole scene played out in my head again when I met that strange woman in the bookstore and how she knew so much about me. "Does she do tarot card readings?"

It was Billy's turn to freeze but he instantly composed himself with a chuckle. "Yes, she does in fact. She goes by Madam Tshilaba." He gave another short laugh as if amused by the strange name. "Her real name is Darya."

I processed that small piece of information. If she lied about something as trivial as her name, she could've lied about anything else. The thought ignited a small flame of hope inside me. "So does that mean her tarot card readings aren't real either?"

Billy shook his head thoughtfully and my hope deflated quickly. "Her readings are always accurate." He pushed his wheelchair towards the drawers. For a moment the room was filled with metal clinging against each other as he searched for something with an intent look in his eyes.

He pulled out a picture frame that looked similar to those black ones that decorated the house hall. He had a sad smile as he set it down on his lap and made his way back to me.

"His name was Charlie." Billy explained. He handed me the frame and pointed at a man no older than thirty. The man had brown curly hair; the smile he wore was nearly hidden by a thick mustache and his cream skin stood against against the black police uniform he wore. His arm was warped around a woman the same age. A smile graced her own lips as she looked down at the baby in her arms. I squinted, trying to get a better look at the baby but the face was covered by the pink blanket the baby was wrapped in.

"He was a dear friend of mine." Billy continued, resting a hand on the armrest on his wheelchair. "Married soon out of high school and had a child a couple years later." He gaze lifted from the frame to the hallways as he was overtaken by a memory. "One day when Charlie came to watch a game, I've forgotten that she was coming to give me my supply." His voice became solemn. "She came in through the door-she visited enough to know her way around- and stopped dead when she saw Charlie."

"Then what happened?" I urged. I had no idea why Billy was telling me this but his story was oddly captivating and though it sounded like the story didn't have a happy ending, I found myself slightly leaning towards Billy.

"Darya pulled me aside." He started slowly, remembering every detail. "She looked terrified when she told me what she saw."

The mug shook in my hands. "What? What did she see?"

"Tragedy," He sighed, "And pain, all in his future. Something that had to do with his first born. Darya told me to warn him, that the tragedy was unnatural-against nature- and I did. Charlie didn't take it too well. Who would?" His sad eyes lifted from the picture and met mine. "I just told him that something tragic was going to happen to his only child. He told me to stop believing in nonsense before walking out the door."

"Was it true? What she wanted you to warn him about, did it happen?"

"Yes." He gave one nod as he took the frame from my hands. "After the girl's fifth birthday, she went missing. Charlie came to my door, begging me to tell him where his daughter was but I couldn't answer him. I didn't know and neither did Darya. "A sigh escaped his lips once the picture was put safely back into the drawer. "Charlie kept blaming himself and kept distancing himself from Renee, his wife. It was a form of punishment that he gave himself. "

I finally set the mug down onto the table when I knew my hands couldn't hold it anymore. "What happened to his daughter?"

Billy studied my face. For what, I don't know but whatever he found made him answer the question I knew he didn't want me to ask. "By the time they found her body it was a month later but it was too mangled and already decomposing to actually make a proper identification."

An image of a small beat it body came to mind. With hair that hardly stuck to a skull, sockets with lids that's covered bluish-grey eyes and a possible pink dress that stuck the blotches of the young girl's missing skin. I've seen far too many of those kind of victims, usually adults, but it made the image easy to create and hard to bare.

"How did they know it was Charlie's daughter?" The name gave me a since of pity and familiarity. It was a strange mixture of emotion but it was still there.

"Charlie was Fork's Chief of Police. He made sure to put himself in the search parties and he was one of the four that found the body." Billy shifted uncomfortably in his wheelchair. It pained him to continue but I couldn't bring myself to make him stop. "He said that the body had the pajamas that his daughter wore the night she went missing. He held on to the hope that the dental records would returning proving him wrong, that-by some sort of coincidence- it was a different girl that had the same pajamas. It wasn't. The after math wasn't too good either."

Even though I knew I couldn't take more sad stories, my mouth didn't stop from asking: "What do you mean?"

"When a couple loses a child, it usually always ends in divorce. ", explained Billy. "Charlie and Renee separated three months later. Renee moved to Arizona, at least that's what I heard. "He added as an afterthought then sighed. "I don't know where Charlie went. He couldn't handle living in Forks anymore-too many reminders of his daughter. One day he just up and left without a word."

I processed everything he told me, holding back the lump that threatened to form in my throat. "Why did you tell me all this?"

"You know Darya." Billy said. "And by the way you acted when I mentioned her; it's easy to see that you met her under not so great circumstances." He patted my hand lightly and his voice held an immense amount of regret. "Don't take whatever she says as nothing more than nonsense."

The mug was completely forgotten on the table as I stood hastily onto my feet. The chair nearly tipped over but with one swift hand I caught it before it hit the wooden floor.

"I have to go." I announced, my heart beating hard against my chest. Darya words rushed to my mind and how the spirits could only protect me for so long-whatever that meant.

I rushed back through the hallway to the living room where I found Jacob in a headlock by Paul in the middle of the floor. The couch was pushed to the far end of the room and Embry held up a white board and a dry erase marker.

"Paul: two; Jake: One." Embry tried imitating the voice of an announcer while holding up the white board in the air. It was marked with black tally marks, most of them under Paul's name.

In the mist of Paul shoving Jacob onto his back, I cleared my throat. All sets of eyes were on me. Two out of three were kind. The rest were burning angrier than hell.

Jacob pushed Paul off of him and stood up straighter. "I was _not_ getting my butt kicked right now." He assured, signaling Embry to put down the board. "I was just showing Paul what not to do in a wrestling match with a vampire."

"Clearly." I mused, glancing over his messy hair.

Jacob playfully punched Paul on the shoulder and gave him a smile. "See everything I did?" His fingers pointed at the space they wrestled just a moment ago. "Don't do that, and you can catch any vampire with ease."

Paul shoved him back with equal force before going to sit on the couch. He didn't even bother moving it back to its original place.

"Jacob, I need to head back to the house." I sighed. "

He reached into his pocket without a second thought and pulled out his motorcycle keys. I followed him out the door and chuckled when he shoved the white board out of Embry's hands when he held it up at eye level with me. I'm pretty sure Embry added a few more extra markings on Paul's side.

A wave of cold air blew at my face the moment we stepped out the door. It wasn't just my fever or whatever it was I had a while ago that made the wind seem chilly- the tea Billy gave me helped with that. Jacob seemed fine against the cold for not having a jacket.

"What did you and my dad talk about?" Jacob casually asked as we made our way to his motorcycle.

"Oh nothing," I shrugged as though nothing Billy said scared the life out of me. "We just contemplated the meaning of life over a cup of tea."

Jacob chuckled, playing along. "And how did _that_ go?"

"Not well." I glanced over at him with a dramatic sigh and touched his arm. "We're both stuck between two very meanings."

He didn't laugh though. His gaze was focused at my gloved hand with a contemplating expression. I dropped it to my side immediately once I remembered the events earlier today.

We finally reached the motorcycle but Jacob made no move to get on.

"That's one creepy ability you have." He eyed my still hand but thankfully didn't seem hesitant to be around me.

The curiosity in his gaze almost made me flinch. It was the same look the scientists in Division wore on their sunken faces when they realized the affect the injection had on me. It took years for it to show- as it always does from what I hear- but they never expected a power like this to occur. Soon after the discovery the tests began. The poking and probing at my head, the physicals I had every other week- it was bad enough having my privacy invaded but to have it done with greedy looks. It was horrible.

My hands stuffed themselves into my pockets. "Hardly an ability." I denied. My voice was flat as I looked over his shoulder. "More like a curse."

"Seems pretty cool, though," He shrugged. "Controlling Pain doesn't seem like a problem." He tested the first words out approvingly and got on the bike.

I stopped his hand from turning the ignition. "Controlling it _is_ the problem, Jacob." I seethed, glaring as he looked at me. "Why do you think I wear this god awful gloves? Cause my nails are chipped?" An involuntary sick laugh left my lips. The need to have someone, just one person, understand was clear in my voice. "I need to wear this baggy clothes and ugly sweaters and jackets cause I can't have anyone near me if don't. I'm a walking mess!"

Jacob grabbed my hand cautiously. "Bella, calm down-"

"No!" I yanked my hand free from his firm grasp with a frustrated screech. "I won't. No one sees that it's a horrible ability to have." I ran my fingers through my hair frantically, ignoring when Jacob grabbed hold of my shoulders. "They are all too busy to wanting to use it- me- to care about how uncontrollable it is-!"

"Bella, you didn't all of the tea, did you?" Jacob's concerned voice stopped me mid-sentence. His fingers, though they were burning hot, left a cold trace as he squeezed my shoulders. "Bella, you're shaking."

* * *

><p><strong>Please Review. Next couple of chapter are deffenetly going to be more Edward and Bella.<strong>

**tell me what you guys thought! What you think will happen yada yada yada. Im currently in the zone O_O so I have a bit of the next chapter written. **

**~AmericasAngel**


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